AT   LOS  ANGELES 


TO   THE 

EASTERN  PART  OF  TERRA  FIRMA, 

OR    THE 

SPANISH  MAIN, 

IN 

SOUTH-AMERICA, 

DURING  THE  YEARS   1801,  1802,   1803,  AND  1804. 
CONTAINING 

A  description  of  the  Territory  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Captain-Ge- 
neral  of  Caraccas,  composed  of  the  Provinces  of  Venezuela,  Maracaibo, 
Varinas,  Spanish  Guiana,  Cumana,  and  the  Island  of  Margaretta ;  and 
embracing  every  thing  relative  to  the  Discovery,  Conquest,  Topography, 
Legislation,  Commerce,  Finance,  Inhabitants  and  Productions  of  the 
Provinces,  together  with  a  viesv  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Spa- 
niards, and  the  savage  as  well  as  civilized  Indians. 


BY  F.  DEPONS, 

LATE  AGENT  OF  THE  FRENCH  GOVERNMENT  AT  CARACCAS, 


IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  i. 

WITH  A  LARGE  MAP  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  &C. 


TRANSLATED  BY  AN  AMERICAN  GENTLEMAN, 


526   0       1   \KEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  BY  AND  FOR  I   RILEY  AND  CO. 

VO.  I,  CITY-HOTEL,  BROADWAY, 
1806. 


District  of  7  T>  E  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  twenty-seconcl 
New- York,  3  ss'  -D  day  of  September,  in  the  thirty -first  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  ISAAC  RII.EY,  of  the 
said  District,  hath  deposited  in  this  Office,  the  Title  of  a  Book,  the  right 
whereof  he  claims  as  proprietor,  in  the  words  and  figures  following,  to  wit  ; 

"  A  Voyage  to  the  Eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma,  or  the  Spanish  Main, 
"  in  South  America,  during  the  years  1801,  1802,  1803,  and  1804,  con - 
"  taining :  a  description  of  the  Territory  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Cap- 
"  tain-General  of  Caraccas,  composed  of  the  provinces  of  Venezuela,  Ma- 
"  racaibo,  Varinas,  Spanish  Guiana,  Cumana,  andtlie  Island  of  Margaretta ; 
"  and  embracing  every  thing  relative  to  the  Discovery,  Conquest,  Topo- 
"  graphy,  Legislation,  Commerce,  Finance,  Inhabitants  and  Productions 
"  of  the  Provinces,  together  with  a  view  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
"  the  Spaniards,  and  the  savage  as  well  as  civilized  Indians,  by  F.  DEPONS, 
"  late  agent  of  the  French  Government  at  Caraccas,  in  three  volumes, 
"  with  a  large  Map  of  the  Country,  &c.  translated  by  an  American  Gen- 
"  tleman." 


IN  CONFORMITY  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  en- 
titled "  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  Co- 
"  pies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of 
"  such  Copies,  during  the  times  herein  mentioned  ;"  and  also  to  an  Act 
entitled  "  An  Act  supplementary  to  an  act  entitled,  An  act  for  the  encour- 
"  agement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and 
"  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  Copies,  during1  the 
"  times  therein  mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof,  to  the  Arts 
"  of  Designing,  Engraving  and  Etching  historical  and  other  prints." 

EDWARD  DUNSCOMB. 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  New- York 


F 
\\ 


V'  I 
LETTER 

FROM  THE  HON.  S.  L.  MITCHILL  TO  THE 
PUBLISHERS. 

New-York,  September  18,  1806. 

MESSRS.  I.  RILEY  AND  CO. 

HAVING  heard  that  you  intend  to  publish  a  Trans- 
lation of  Mr.  Depons'  Voyage  to  the  Eastern  Part 
of  Terra  Firma,  published  in  Paris  a  Jew  months 
ago,  I  send  you  a  hasty  version  of  the  author's  intro- 
ductory remarks.  In  these  his  objects  are  so  far  un- 
folded, that  the  reader  may  form  a  tolerable  opinion  of 
his  opportunities  to  collect  information,  and  of  his  ta- 
lent to  communicate  it.  I  hope  you  will  soon  give  the 
three  volumes  to  the  public,  in  an  English  dress  :  For 
the  seasonableness  and  importance  of  a  work,  written 
with  the  ability  manifested  in  every  part  of  this,  on 
the  Provinces  of  South-America,  belonging  to  the 
Captain-Generalship  ofCaraccas,  cannot  fail  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  notice  of  statesmen,  merchants,  and  the 
lovers  of  general  knowledge.  The  perusal  of  this  per- 
formance, which  discloses  to  our  view  some  of  the  most 
favoured  countries,  which,  though  but  moderately  dis- 
tant from  us,  and  situated  in  the  same  quarter  of  the 
globe,  have  been  kept  out  of  our  sight  for  three  hun- 
dred years  by  the  care  and  prudence  of  Spanish  policy  ', 
has  given  me  more  than  usual  pleasure  and  instruction. 
J  doubt  not  that  many  of  my  fellow-citizens  will  re- 
ceive from  it  equal  gratification  ;  for  it  displays  many 
new  and  curious  particulars,  which  lose  nothing  by  the 
manner  of  telling.  To  many,  it  may  be  a  recommen- 
dation that  the  author  writes  more  like  a  man  of  busi- 
ness than  a  man  of  science. 

SAM.  L.  MITCHILL. 


INTRODUCTION. 

1  HE  work  which  I  offer  to  the  public  has  no  other 
foundation  than  truth,  nor  any  ornament  but  that 
which  is  derived  from  correctness.  My  object  in 
undertaking  it  was  to  place  in  the  annals  of  geogra- 
phy and  politics,  countries  hitherto  unknown,  where 
nature  spreads  her  bounties  with  a  prodigal  hand,  and 
where  she  displays  all  her  magnificence,  unknown,  as 
it  were,  to  the  rest  of  the  globe. 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  maintaining  that  no  part  of 
America,  in  whatever  latitude,  can  be  compared  for 
the  fertility,  variety  and  richness  of  its  productions  to 
that  which  forms  the  captain-generalship  of  Caraccas, 
that  is  to  say,  the  provinces  of  Venezuela,  Varinas, 
Maracaibo,  Cumana,  Spanish  Guiana  and  the  island 
of  Margaretta,  which  extend  from  the  12th  degree  of 
north  latitude  to  the  equator,  and  from  the  62d  de- 
gree of  longitude  west  of  the  meridian  of  Paris  to  the 
75th. 

I  designate  this  country  by  the  new  title  of  the 
Eastern  part  of  Terra  Fir  ma,  to  distinguish  it  from 
that  part  of  Terra  Firma  which  is  situated  further 
westward  and  is  dependent  on  the  viceroyalty  of  San- 
ta Fe  ;  having  for  boundaries  on  its  northern  extremi- 
ty, Cape  de  la  Vela  to  the  east,  and  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  on  the  west. 

All  sorts  of  colonial  produce  are  raised  in  this  land 
of  promise,  without  exception,  in  greater  abundance 


VI 

than  in  any  of  the  Antilles,  and  they  are  of  a  far  su- 
perior quality.  It  is  perfectly  well  known  that  the 
cocoa  of  Caraccas  brings  a  price  in  commerce  twice 
as  great  as  that  which  grows  in  the  islands  of  the 
Mexican  Gulfs,  without  even  excepting  St.  Domingo. 
It  sells  for  1/J  or  20  per  cent  more  than  that  which  is 
raised  in  the  same  latitude  upon  the  banks  of  the 
celebrated  river  Magdalena,  which  runs  through  a 
considerable  part  of  the  new  kingdom  of  Grenada, 
and  empties  into  the  sea  not  far  from  Carthagena. 
The  cocoa  of  Guayaquil,  on  the  shores  of  the  South 
Sea,  almost  under  the  line,  is  not  worth  more  than 
half  as  much  as  that  of  Caraccas  and  its  dependencies. 

The  indigo  of  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma  is 
inferior  to  none  but  that  of  Guatimala.  The  differ- 
ence is  not  more  than  about  8  or  10  per  cent. 

Tobacco  cultivated  and  prepared  in  these  provin- 
ces, is  worth  as  much  again  as  the  best  which  the 
United  States  afford.  This  single  article,  which  is 
exported  on  the  king's  account,  ncats  yearly  to  the 
treasury  about  four  millions. 

The  sugar  and  coffee  of  these  regions  are  finer  than 
in  the  rest  of  the  Torrid  Zone,  although  the  proces- 
ses of  art  do  much  less  for  them  here  than  they  ought. 

Besides  the  present  products  of  these  provinces, 
there  is  a  great  variety  of  others,  which  the  soil  of 
eastern  Terra  Firma  offers  to  its  inhabitants  without 
requiring  from  them  any  advance,  or  subjecting  them 
to  any  other  trouble  than  that  of  collecting  them  and 
bestowing  on  them  a  light  and  easy  preparation. 

In  this  numerous  class  may  be  ranked ;  1.  Vanil- 
la, the  fruit  of  a  climbing  plant,  which  like  the  wild- 


Vll 

vine  or  ivy  attaches  itself  to  trees,  and  brings  in  trade 
as  much  as  one  hundred  francs  a  pound.  Va- 
nilla grows  abundantly  in  the  woods  of  St.  Philip 
and  Truxillo,  upon  the  borders  of  the  river  Tuy.  It 
requires  uncultivated  grounds,  that  are  moist  and  cov- 
ered with  large  trees.  The  province  of  Venezuela 
itself  might  afford  ten  thousand  weight  a  year,  not- 
withstanding the  neglected  state  of  its  culture,  and 
the  quantity  could  be  easily  doubled  by  the  smallest 
application  of  industry.  For  there  is  nothing  more 
necessary  towards  the  rearing  of  this  valuable  plant, 
than  to  stick  in  the  ground  cuttings  of  the  Vanilla- 
vine  at  the  root  of  trees.  There  they  grow,  and  climb 
with  the  greatest  ease  and  quickness.  A  more  sure 
though  less  convenient  method  of  guarding  against 
the  death  of  the  plants,  is  to  insert  them  within  the 
bark,  or  graft  them  upon  the  trees,  about  20  inches 
from  the  ground.  This  interesting  object  of  com- 
merce is  for  the  inhabitants  of  Terra  Firma,  a  mere 
matter  of  curiosity.  There  are  not  more  than  two 
hundred  pounds  of  Vanilla  sold  yearly.  All  that  is 
collected  is  sent  as  presents,  from  the  agents  of  go- 
vernment and  those  who  solicit  offices,  to  their  friends 
and  patrons  in  Spain.  The  rest  of  it  spoils  upon  the 
trees,  or  is  eaten  by  the  monkeys  who  are  very  fond 
of  it.  The  trifling  quantity  collected,  receives  but  an 
imperfect  preparation,  the  carelessness  of  which  de- 
prives it  of  the  superiority  which  it  naturally  possess- 
es over  that  of  Mexico. 

2.  The  wild  Cochineal  may  be  put  in  the  same  list 
with  Vanilla.  It  exists  in  Terra  Firma,  and  in  great 
quantities  at  Coro,  Carora,  and  Truxillo.  AH  the  use 


VIII 

they  make  of  it  is  for  dyeing  colours  on  the  spot.  The 
success  of  the  trial  has  never  induced  them  to  think  oj 
making  it  an  article  of  commerce.  To  evince  its 
importance,  it  would  be  simply  necessary  to  apply  to 
it  the  processes  lately  published  in  Paris  by  M.  Brul  - 
ley,  a  planter  who  is  as  commendable  for  the  number 
of  his  ingenious  observations,  as  for  the  exactness  and 
happy  results  of  his  experiments. 

3.  This  same  country  could  also  supply  dyers  with 
many  woods,  barks  and  plants,  capable  of  making  the 
most  lively  and  permanent  colours.  At  present  none  of 
these  articles  make  any  part  of  their  commerce,  be- 
cause they  are  not  brought  to  market ;  although  the 
advantages  derived  from  them  on  the  spot  is  a  sure 
evidence  of  what  thev  would  afford  to  manufactures. 

•/ 

The  port  of  Maracaibo  is  almost  the  only  one,  where 
they  export  a  little  Brazil-wood.  The  dyeing  arts  of 
Europe  might  be  made  tributary  to  the  eastern  part 
of  Terra  Firma  for  more  than  500,000  francs  a  year, 
without  doing  the  smallest  disservice  to  the  raising  of 
other  produce,  by  the  labour  necessary  for  their  co- 
louring materials. 

4.  Gums,  rosins,  balsams  and  medicinal  oils,  might 
make  a  conspicuous  figure  in  trade,  if  the  careless- 
ness of  the  inhabitants  did  not  make  them  prefer 
ease  to  profit.  The  jurisdictions  of  Coro,  Carora, 
Qucuyo,  anil  Upper  Guiana,  contains  tracts  of  high 
land,  which  nature  has  covered  with  aromatic  plants, 
to  indemnify  them  for  the  power  it  has  denied  them 
of  producing  those  articles,  which  demand  a  greater 
degree  of  moisture., 


IX 

5.  It  would  be  too  long,  or  to  speak  more  cor- 
rectly, it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  enumerate 
all  the  herbs,  roots  and  barks,  which  the  eastern  part 
of  Terra  Firma  offers  to  medicine ;    they  are  innu- 
merable and  disseminated  over  the  different  provin- 
ces,   according  to   the  temperature   and   exposure 
which  nature  has  assigned  them.     There  is  more 
Sarsaparilla  here  than  all  Europe  can  consume.   Sas- 
safras and  Liquorice  are  particularly  plentiful  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Truxillo;  the  Squill  in  the  parish 
of  Sagunetas;   Storax  in  the  jurisdiction  of  Coro; 
Cassia  almost  every  where;  Gayac  on  the  shores; 
Aloes  in  Carora;    a  species  of   Quinquina  on  the 
mountains,  &c.  See. 

6.  A  peculiarity  worthy  of  remark  is,  that  there 
are  few  or  no  useless  trees  found  in  the  numerous 
and  extensive  forests  of  the  eastern  part  of  Terra 
Firma.     They  are  either  fruit  trees,  or  they  are 
adapted  by  their  hardness,  bulk,  or  length,  to  all  the 
purposes  for  which  man  has  need  to  apply  them. 
There  are  more  than  twenty  sorts  fit  for  inlaid  work 
of  the  most  exquisite  finish  ;  the  colours  are  so  va- 
rious that  when  they  are  aided  by  polishing,  they 
make  a  more  beautiful  appearance  than  the  finest  la- 
bourer in  mahogany  can  form,  with  the  nicest  grain 
and  the  neatest  spots  that  timber  can  furnish.   Among 
these  woods  there  is  one  called  Chacaranday,  which 
surpasses  all  the  rest  in  beauty;  it  is  found  on  the 
mountains  of  Perija  in  the  province  of  Maracaibo, 
Half  Europe  might  find  in  the  forests  of  Terra  Fir- 
ma, wood  enough  for  all  its  luxurious  furniture  and 
equipage.     It  is  true,  they  are  not  all  equally  easy  of 
exportation,  on  account  of  their  distance  from  sea- 

VOL.  I.  B 


ports  and  navigable  rivers.  But  there  is  a  sufficiency 
of  them  near  enough  for  exports  to  the  amount  of 
several  millions. 

7.  Commerce  might  draw  something  considera- 
ble from  the  animal  kingdom,  provided  the  police 
and  the  people  would  seriously  turn  their  attention  to 
the  subject.  My  chapter  on  commerce  will  teach 
how  much  the  mass  of  exports  owes  to  this  source 
of  local  wealth.  I  need  now  do  no  more,  to  fix  the 
attention  of  my  reader  than  to  tell  him  there  are  in 
Venezuela  and  Barcelona,  Spanish  Guiana,  the  wes- 
tern side  of  Lake  Maracaibo,  &.c.  1,200,000  neat 
cattle;  180,000  horses  and  mares;  and  90,000 
mules,  scattered  over  the  plains  and  vallies;  sheep 
are  innumerable;  and  deer  are  abundant,  particu- 
larly in  the  jurisdictions  of  Coro,  Carora,  and  Qu- 
cuyo.  This  branch  of  the  products  of  the  country 
would  amount  to  5  millions  of  francs,*  reckoning 
living  animals  exported  to  the  neighbouring  coloniesT 
and  the  deer-skins  and  ox  hides  carried  to  other  places. 

This  sketch,  which  is  rather  below  than  above  the 
truth,  proves  that  there  are  few  regions  to  which 
nature  has  been  so  lavish  of  her  favours,  as  to  the 
one  I  am  describing.  In  the  eyes,  and  in  the  esti- 
mation of  every  reasonable  man,  both  Mexico  and 
Peru  lose  by  the  comparison ;  for  as  I  have  often 
had  occasion  to  say,  the  mines  which  are  daily  be- 
coming worse,  are  very  far  from  insuring  to  the  trade 
and  navigation  of  the  mother  country,  so  many  ad- 
vantages as  can  be  derived  from  those  productions 
which  each  year  will  renew,  and  which  ages  will  but 
augment. 

*  Five  francs  are  about  equal  to  one  dollar 


Notwithstanding,  a  country  in  which  all  the  ele- 
ments of  the  greatest  prosperity  are  united,  where 
agriculture  heaps  her  stores,  where  the  soil  every 
where  yields  crops  corresponding  to  the  different 
temperatures  and  exposures  which  it  derives  from 
its  particular  situation;  in  short,  a  country  peopled 
by  728,000  inhabitants,  is  almost  entirely  unknown, 
both  to  the  literary  and  commercial  world.  No 
Spanish  writer  has  described  it.  And  the  ideas 
which  our  most  celebrated  modern  geographers  have 
given  of  it,  are  so  incorrect,  that  to  have  written 
nothing  would  have  been  better  than  to  have  treated 
the  subject  as  they  have  done. 

"  The  province  of  Venezuela,"  says,  Mr.  Men- 
telle,  "  or  little  Venice,  is  so  called,  because  the 
"  chief  place  is  but  little  above  the  water-level." 
(Course  of  Cosmography,  &c.  vol.  III.  page  520, 
edition  of  1801.^  The  chief  place  of  Venezuela, 
was  always  far  above  the  water-level.  The  town 
of  Coro  situated  upon  an  arid  soil,  was  the  seat 
of  government  from  its  foundation  in  1527,  to 
1576,  when  Governor  Pimentel  chose  for  his  resi- 
dence the  town  of  Caraccas,  whose  elevation  is  460 
toises*  above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  and  which  has 
no  other  water  than  three  streams,  which  run  rapidly 
through  it,  and  a  small  river  bordering  on  its  south 
side. 

But  the  name  Venezuela^  which  is  really  in  Spa- 
nish, a  diminutive  of  Venice,  was  given  to  this  pro- 
vince on  account  of  some  Indian  villages,  which  the 
first  conquerors  found  on  the  lake  of  Maracaibo. — 
There  are  three  of  them  existing  to  this  day,  under 

*  A  toise  is  about  a  fathom,  or  six  feet  English. 


Xll 


the  circumstances  which  I  have  detailed  in  the  chap- 
ter wherein  that  lake  is  described. 

In  the  following  page  of  the  same  volume,  Mr. 
Mentelle  announces  a  province  of  Oronoko.  "  It  has 
"  taken  its  name,"  says  he  "  from  the  great  river 
*'  which  runs  through  it."  I  am  perfectly  acquaint- 
ed with  all  the  countries  through  which  the  Oronoko 
runs,  and  I  affirm  that  there  is  no  such  province  as 
Oronoko.  From  the  position  which  Mr.  Mentelle 
gives  it,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  he  meant  the 
region  which  is  truly  Spanish  Guiana,  since,  accor- 
ding to  him,  all  Guiana  is  divided  between  the  French 
and  the  Dutch ;  while,  in  fact,  the  Portuguese  possess 
all  that  part  which  is  bounded  southwardly  by  the 
river  Amazon,  northwardly  by  the  French  territo- 
ries, and  northwestwardly  by  Spanish  Guiana.— 
The  part  of  Guiana  between  the  river  Oronoko  and 
the  Dutch  colony  belongs  to  Spain.  It  extends  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Oronoko,  beyond  the  head  waters 
of  it,  that  is,  more  than  six  hundred  leagues  to  the 
south-west.  The  Spanish  government  intended  to 
give  to  its  conquered  possessions  beyond  the  Orono- 
ko, the  name  of  New  Andalusia  ;  but  the  Indian 
term  Guiana  has  prevailed,  and  they  have  not  been 
known  for  a  hundixd  years  by  any  other  denomina- 
tion than  that  of  Spanish  Guiana. 

"  The  river  Oronoko"  says  Mr.  Mentelle  "  be- 
"  gins  among  the  Cordilleras  of  Peru,  and  dischar- 
"  ges  into  the  sea  through  four  openings."  The 
Oronoko  arises  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Parima,  and 
after  having  run  a  course  of  more  than  five  hundred 
leagues  empties  into  the  ocean  by  fifty  mouths,  sc 
ven  only  of  which  are  navigable. 


Xlll 


The  author  of  the  New  Dictionary  of  Ancient  and 
Modern  Geography ',  printed  at  Lyons  in  1804,  ac- 
cuses Vosgien  of  a  croud  of  inaccuracies.  But  he  is 
very  far  himself  from  being  exact,  in  what  he  says 
of  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma.  For  example,  in 
his  discussion  of  South  America,  he  comprehends 
Venezuela,  Maracaibo,  Cumana  and  Guiana  in  the 
kingdom  of  Granada,  although  they  have  been  de- 
tached from  it  for  seventy  five-years.  From  that 
epoch,  these  all  form  the  Department  of  the  captain- 
general  of  Caraccas,  whose  authority  is  inferior  to 
that  of  the  king  alone. 

According  to  him  "  Venezuela  was  so  called,  be- 
"  cause  Alphonso  Ojeda,  having  landed  there  in 
u  1499,  caused  some  huts  to  be  built  upon  piles  to 
"  raise  them  above  the  stagnant  water  which  cover- 
u  ed  the  plain."  It  is  true  that  Ojeda  went  in  1499 
to  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma.  He  landed  at 
Maracapana,  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  to  the 
eastward  of  the  Lake  whence  the  name  of  Little  Ve- 
nice was  derived.  He  there  bartered  his  cargo  for 
the  gold  and  pearls  of  the  Indians,  and  afterwards 
coasted  Terra  Firma  as  far  as  Cape  Delavela,  whence, 
according  to  some  writers,  he  returned  to  Maracapa- 
na, and  according  to  others,  he  sailed  for  St.  Domin- 
go. But  he  never  thought  of  erecting  a  hut  upon 
Terra  Firma,  and  still  less  upon  its  stagnant  waters. 
The  oldest  Spanish  establishment  around  the  lake  of 
Maracaibo  was  in  1527,  and  this  was  owing  to  the 
exertions  and  affability  of  John  Ampues,  as  the  rea- 
der will  find  it  stated  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  work. 


XIV 


Under  the  article  Cumana,  in  the  same  dictionary, 
it  is  written  that  "Amerigo  Vespucci  discovered  the 
"  coast  of  this  province  in  1498,  and  that  Ojeda. 
"  coasted  along  it  the  ensuing  year."  Vespucci  and 
Ojeda  made  together,  and  not  separately,  two  voy- 
ages to  Terra  Firma.  The  first  was  in  1499,  and  was 
undertaken  wholly  upon  the  relation  which  Colum- 
bus made  to  the  court  of  Spain  of  his  discovery  of  it 
the  year  before.  This  is  recorded  by  the  best  Spa- 
nish writers  and  also  in  the  archives  of  the  country. 
The  detection  of  this  anachronism  is  the  more  im- 
portant, because  its  tendency  is  nothing  less  than  to 
deprive  Columbus  of  the  honour  of  the  discovery, 
and  to  establish  the  spurious  claim  of  the  knavish 
Vespucci  ! 

Mr.  Aynes'  edition  of  the  before  quoted  dictiona- 
ry says  that  the  Spaniards  obtained  from  the  province 
of  Cumana  tobacco  and  pearls  ;  and  from  Caraccas  a 
great  quantity  of  silver.  It  is  now  more  than  fifty 
years  since  pearl  fishing  was  carried  on  along  this 
coast.  Tobacco  is  cultivated  and  sold  wholly  on  the 
king's  account.  Caraccas  and  the  dependent  provinces, 
working  no  mines,  have  nothing  but  agricultural  pro- 
duce to  exchange  for  European  merchandize.  And 
the  money  received  on  these  sales  makes  all  their  cir- 
culating cash. 

The  article  of  Guiana  is  that  which  approaches  the 
nearest  to  correctness  ;  there  are  but  two  considera- 
ble errors  in  it.  The  author  fixes  the  northern  li- 
mits of  Dutch  Guiana  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oronoko. 
These  boundaries  are  established  by  treaties  at  the 
river  Essequibo  forty  leagues  southward  of  the  Oro- 


XV 


noko.  But  the  Dutch  have  encroached  eight  or  ten 
leagues  to  the  northward.  Mr.  Aynes  says  also  that 
Spanish  Guiana  makes  a  part  of  the  government  of 
Cumana.  Since  the  year  1764,  Guiana  has  had  a 
governor  of  its  own,  and  its  department  is  independ- 
tne  of  the  government  of  Cumana,  and  separated  from 
it  by  the  river  Oronoko. 

The  Universal  Dictionary  of  Commercial  Geogra- 
phy, printed  in  five  volumes  4to.  in  the  8th  year  of 
the  Republic,  a  master-piece  of  commercial  know- 
ledge, and  the  repository  of  almost  every  kind  of 
information  on  every  portion  of  the  globe  which 
the  geographer,  statesman  or  merchant  can  re- 
quire, is  however  so  incorrect  in  his  treatise  upon  the 
eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma  that  the  value  of  that  im- 
portant work  is  lessened  by  it. 

"  Caraccas"  says  he,  "  is  a  shore  and  town  of 
"  South  America  in  Terra  Firma,  province  of  Ve- 
"nezuela!"  He  might  and  ought  to  have  added, 
that  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  it  has  not  only 
been  the  capital  of  the  same  province,  but  in  addi- 
tion to  that,  the  head-quarters  of  the  captain-general, 
the  seat  of  the  royal  audience,  and  the  office  of  the 
Intendant,  whose  authority  extends  over  Venezuela, 
Maracaibo,  Varinas,  Cumana,  Guiana,  and  Marga- 
retta. 

"There  are  Indian  corn  and  plantains  there; 
"  there  are  likewise  fowls  and  hogs."  This  descrip- 
tion, which  suggests  the  idea  of  a  country  whose 
barren  soil  refuses  subsistence  to  its  inhabitants,  or 
affords  it  to  them  with  reluctance,  is  injurious  to  the 
character  of  Venezuela,  where  the  liberal  earth 


XVI 

teems  with  all  the  productions  to  be  found  in  the 
West- India  islands,  and  a  great  many  more,  which 
those  islands  do  not  contain.  In  no  part  of  the  hab- 
itable world,  is  man  so  little  embarrassed  for  subsis- 
tence as  in  the  province  of  Venezuela.  If  he  will 
labour,  he  is  sure  to  grow  rich  ;  or  if  he  is  lazy  and 
vegetates  along,  he  has  only  to  stretch  his  hand  and 
bend  his  back,  that  he  may  gather  from  the  soil,  a 
vastly  greater  quantity  of  food  than  is  necessary  for 
his  support. 

"  But  the  principal  production  of  its  vallies,  or 
"  to  speak  truly,  the  only  one  that  can  be  called 
"  marketable,  is  the  cacao  of  which  chocolate  is 
"  made.  From  hence  the  Hollanders  derive  the 
"  principal  part  of  the  cacao  which  they  bring 
"  to  Europe.  This  fruit  is  almost  the  only  mer- 
"  chandize  brought  from  this  coast,  whose  chief 
"  town  was  Laguira,  without  doubt  La  Goayra. 
"  Hides  however,  are  got  there,  and  silver  too,  which 
"  is  in  fact  an  article  of  contraband  for  foreigners. 
"  Though  the  English  from  Jamaica,  and  the  Dutch 
"  from  Curracoa,  carry  off  annually  considerable 
"  quantities  of  both  as  well  as  of  cacao,  especially  the 
"  Hollanders,  who  send  thither  every  year  several  ves- 
"  sels  of  30  or  40  tons." 

This  picture,  printed  four  years  ago,  (year  8th) 
appears  to  be  a  hundred  years  old  ;  for  at  that  time, 
the  commerce  of  the  mother  country  not  frequent- 
ing the  ports  of  Terra  Firma,  the  Hollanders  of 
Curracoa  were  really  the  purchasers  of  the  produce 
on  the  one  part,  and  the  furnishers  of  European  goods 
in  return  for  them,  on  the  other,  [t  is  also  true,  that 


XV11 

at  that  remote  day,  the  province  of  Venezuela,  trad- 
ed only  in  cacao,  hides  and  tobacco;  but  it  has 
never  had  silver  in  great  quantity ',  for  the  king  of 
Spain  has  been  obliged  annually,  to  remit  specie  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  government.  This  supply 
was  derived  direct  from  Mexico. 

Since  1728,  the  produce  of  Venezuela  has  taken 
the  course  of  the  mother  country  ;  for  this  the  people 
are  obliged  to  the  care  and  superintendence  of  the 
Company  of  Guipuscoa,  whose  exclusive  privilege 
lasted  until  1780.  During  that  period,  and  up  to 
the  present  day,  neither  the  English  or  the  Dutch 
enjoy  any  other  than  a  clandestine  commerce  ;  even 
this  they  do  not  carry  on  directly,  but  through  the 
medium  of  Spanish  smugglers,  who  go  secretly  to 
Jamaica,  Curacoa  and  Trinidad,  to  purchase  dry 
goods,  which  they  pay  for,  not  in  cacao,  but  in  the 
cash  which  the  lawful  trade  brings  into  the  provinces, 
for  the  balance  of  exchange  in  favour  of  the  colo- 
nial productions  against  the  commodities  of  Europe. 

From  the  same  sera,  Venezuela  engaged  in  raising 
other  produce.  Cacao  at  present  does  not  constitute 
the  quarter  part  of  its  territorial  exports;  all  this 
will  however  be  explained  in  that  chapter  of  my 
work,  which  treats  on  commerce. 

"  The  province  of  Cumana  depends,"  according  to 
the  Dictionary  of  Commercial  Geography,  "upon  the 
"  Royal  Audience  of  St.  Domingo."  Twenty  years 
ago  this  was  the  case.  But  it  was  detached  in  1786, 
when  the  Royal  Audience  of  Caraccas  was  established. 

The  remainder  of  what  is  written  under  the  arti- 
cle Cumana)  is  altogether  contrary  to  the  information 

VOL.  I. 


XV111 


•which  I  have  procured.  There  is  nothing  correct, 
except  in  the  beauty  and  delightfulness  which  he 
ascribes  to  this  province ;  for  I  must  own  that  in 
the  course  of  my  travels,  I  never  heard  of  the 
Valley  of  Salma,  nor  of  the  Mountains  of  St.  Pedro, 
near  the  Oronoko.  The  only  mountains  of  that 
name  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  are  five  leagues 
south-west  of  Caraccas,  about  one  hundred  leagues 
west  of  the  nearest  bounds  of  Cumana,  and  nearly 
the  same  distance  from  the  Oronoko. 

"  In  the  vale  of  Neyva,"  says  the  same  dictionary, 
"  mines  have  for  some  years  past  been  worked  to 
"  such  good  account,  as  not  to  disappoint  the  ex- 
"  pectations  of  the  undertakers,  who  cause  it  to  be 
"  understood,  that  the  whole  country  from  Toran- 
"  yena  to  La  Plata,  abounds  in  gold."  My  re- 
searches give  me  authority  to  declare,  that  there 
are  no  gold  or  silver  mines  worked  either  in 
the  province  of  Cumana,  or  for  three  hundred 
leagues  around.  In  Cumana  there  does  not  exist 
such  a  place  as  the  Valley  of  Neyva.  The  one  of 
this  name  which  is  in  Terra  Firma,  is  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Magdalena,  more  than  three  hundred 
leagues  from  Cumana. 

The  article  concerning  Guiana  is  not  more  correct. 
In  this  dictionary  it  is  divided  into  French  and  Dutch ; 
the  possessions  of  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards, 
which  are  six  times  more  extensive  than  those  of 
France  and  Holland,  are  passed  over  in  silence. 

I  have  regretted  to  find  in  the  article  Porto  Rico  of 
the  same  work,  that  that  island  was  taken  by  the 
English  during  the  late  war.  The  honor  of  the  Spa- 


XIX 

nish  character  demands  of  me  the  correction  of  this 
mistake. 

True  it  is  that  in  1798  the  English  made  an  attempt 
to  conquer  that  island.  Its  situation,  harbours  and 
fruitfulness  had  made  it  so  much  the  object  of  their 
covetousness  that  they  directed  against  it  the  most 
formidable  expedition  that  had  ever  been  made  in  the 
Antilles.  It  was  commanded  by  Abercrombie,  the 
most  famous  of  their  generals.  The  landing  was  ef- 
fected to  the  eastward  of  the  town,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  English  fleet.  They  carried  on  shore  their 
heavy  artillery  ;  and  at  their  leisure  put  themselves  in 
hostile  array.  Abercrombie  fixed  his  head  quarters 
in  the  Bishop's  house,  not  far  from  the  town. 

While  these  preparations  for  attack  were  making, 
those  of  defence  were  also  prompt  and  vigorous.  All 
the  Spaniards  were  equally  desirous  of  repelling  the 
enemy  ;  and  they  all  swore  to  shed  their  blood  in  de- 
fence of  their  country. 

Four  or  five  hundred  Frenchmen  employed  in 
cruising,  whose  privateers  and  prizes  were  in  the  road 
of  Porto  Rico,  embodied  under  the  command  of  the 
French  commissioner,  M.  Paris,  and  offered  their  ser- 
vices to  the  captain- general.  He  accepted  them. 
They  solicited  the  most  advanced  post,  on  the  side 
opposed  to  the  enemy.  This  favour  was  granted  them. 
They  marched  in  order  of  battle,  followed  by  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  town.  This  fort,  as  it  ought  to  be, 
was  attacked  first.  The  English  artillery  made  large 
breaches  in  it ;  and  demolished  all  the  parapets.  The 
Spanish  captain-general  sent  orders  for  its  evacuation, 
as  being  no  longer  tenable.  The  answer  returned 


XX 

was  that  the  French  could  still  hold  it,  and  in  so  doing 
to  prove  themselves  worthy  of  the  reliance  the  Spa- 
niards had  placed  on  them.  They  only  asked  for  bales 
of  cotton  to  repair  the  parapets,  and  supplies  of  pro- 
vision and  ammunition.  The  fire  was  kept  up  with- 
out cessation,  on  both  sides.  The  French  had  pro- 
mised the  English  that  they  should  not  go  by  this  fort 
but  upon  their  dead  bodies ;  and  they  kept  their  word. 
Their  intrepidity  so  disconcerted  the  enemy,  that 
judging  of  the  difficulties  requisite  to  get  possession 
of  the  town  by  those  they  encountered  to  take  the  first 
and  weakest  of  the  outworks,  and  being  informed  be- 
sides that  the  Spaniards  intended  to  make  a  vigorous 
sally  against  them,  they  resolved  to  raise  the  siege 
precipitately,  and  embarked  on  board  their  vessels, 
leaving  behind  their  heavy  artillery  as  the  pledges  of 
their  failure. 

It  is  impossible  to  express  the  marks  of  grati- 
tude which  the  Spaniards  showed  the  Frenchmen 
on  re-entering  the  town  under  the  banners  of  victory. 
The  two  people  united  in  the  most  brotherly  embra- 
ces. The  French  were  addressed  with  the  flattering 
title  of  saviours  of  Porto  Rico.  In  some  respect  they 
were  indeed  deserving  of  it,  though  the  English  would 
not  have  had  a  better  bargain  of  the  Spaniards  than  of 
the  French,  if  they  had  come  near  enough  to  engage 
with  them. 

The  captain-general  promised  to  give  to  the  king 
an  account  of  the  obligation  under  which  the  town  was 
laid  by  these  brave  allies.  The  relation  of  the  siege 
was  indeed  printed  in  the  Madrid  gazette ;  but  its 
Hmits  probably  did  not  allow  any  mention  to  be  made 


XXI 

of  the  French.  Posterity  however  shall  know,  if  my 
work  should  live  so  long,  that  the  commanding  offi- 
cers, Baron  and  Bernard  covered  themselves  with 
glory  in  this  memorable  action.  But  I  return  to  my 
subject. 

How  has  it  happened  that  the  statistical  account  of  a 
country  so  rich,  extensive  and  near  to  Europe  as  Terra 
Firma,  is  to  this  day  so  imperfect,  while  that  of  regions 
the  most  distant  and  difficult  of  approach,  affords  all  the 
particulars  that  history  can  desire  ?  It  is  because  no  na- 
tion repels  with  so  much  vigour  from  its  possessions 
beyond  the  seas,  every  thing  which  is  not  of  its  own  blood 
or  descent  as  the  Spanish.  No  stranger  can  tread  in  the 
districts  of  the  Spanish  possessions,  especially  on  the 
American  continent,  far  less  become  a  resident  in 
them,  without  an  express  permission  from  the  king. 
This  is  very  difficult  to  obtain,  except  for  excursions 
which  have  no  other  object  than  to  enlarge  the  do- 
mains of  natural  history.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma  not  working  any  mines, 
no  Spaniard  has  been  found  willing  to  devote  his  ta- 
lents and  his  vigilance  to  the  description  of  a  country 
which  the  whole  nation,  greedy  of  mines,  considers  as 
but  an  indifferent  possession. 

It  required  just  that  concurrence  of  events  which 
carried  me  to  Terra  Firma,  to  secure  me  an  asylum 
there.  But  in  this  even  I  have  experienced  some 
difficulties.  I  however  overcame  them  by  the  same 
principles  which  have  always  served  as  the  ground- 
work of  my  conduct  in  foreign  countries.  They  con- 
sisted in  never  ridiculing  their  ancient  prejudices,  in 
respecting  their  usages,  and  in  conforming  to  local 
customs. 


XX11 


In  spite  of  all  these  precautions,  it  must  not  be  sup- 
posed that  I  have  not  had  many  difficulties  to  encoun- 
ter while  I  was  procuring  the  materials  necessary  to 
my  purpose.  The  Spaniards  are,  literally  speaking, 
more  than  any  other  nation,  jealous  of  every  foreign  ob- 
server. There  are  very  few  who  will  frankly  aid  his 
inquiries  into  their  political  and  domestic  regimen. 
But  there  are  a  great  many  who,  under  the  veil  of  zeal 
and  affection,  give  him  seriously  and  upon  the  great- 
est subjects,  information  diametrically  opposite  to  the 
truth.  How  often  have  I  received  confidential  ac- 
counts upon  the  correctness  of  which  it  appeared 
ridiculous  to  entertain  a  doubt,  though  the  falsity  of 
them  was  but  too  apparent  afterwards.  Without  a  resi- 
dence of  eight  years,  which  I  had  made  in  the  other 
Spanish  dominions,  previous  to  my  arrival  in  Terra 
Firma ;  without  a  residence  of  nearly  four  years  in 
the  place  which  I  have  described  ;  without  the  means 
I  have  employed  to  obtain  access  to  registers ; 
finally,  without  the  rule  which  I  rigorously  imposed 
upon  myself,  to  examine  every  thing  with  my  own 
eyes,  all  my  watching,  my  labours  and  my  expenses 
would  only  have  led  me  to  conclusions  more  injurious 
than  beneficial  to  geography  and  natural  history. 

It  is  besides  not  sufficient  to  have  collected  all  the 
information  proper  for  an  exact  description.  It  was 
necessary  to  give  them  a  methodical  arrangement ; 
so  that  by  this  means,  the  same  impressions  might  be 
made  upon  the  minds  of  my  readers  in  looking  over 
my  pages,  that  my  own  received  in  travelling  and 
studying  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma.  I  flatter 
myself  the  distribution  I  have  made  of  my  materials 
will  be  found  to  have  this  effect. 


xxm 


The  first  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  discovery  and 
conquest  of  the  country.  It  will  thence  appear  that 
the  Spaniards  established  themselves  in  Terra  Firma, 
at  least  more  slowly,  if  not  with  more  difficulty,  than 
in  any  other  part  of  America.  This  proceeded  as 
much  from  the  wrong  measures  pursued  in  the  be- 
ginning, as  from  the  preference  given  by  the  Spaniards 
to  Mexico  and  Peru,  where  the  passion  for  mines 
found  more  to  gratify  it. 

To  this  chapter  succeeds  the  summary  descrip- 
tion of  the  country,  such  as  it  was  at  the  epoch 
when  the  Spaniards  established  themselves  in  it.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  I  ought  to  make  known  its  tem- 
perature, soil,  native  productions,  forests,  mountains, 
lakes,  rivers  and  harbours,  before  I  treated  of  its  in- 
stitutions, and  the  territorial  riches  which  belong  to 
the  genius  and  industry  of  the  conquerors.  All  these 
subjects  are  discussed  in  the  second  chapter. 

Then  follows  a  chapter  on  the  population  as  well 
European  as  African.  Herein,  I  explain  the  means 
employed  to  obtain  an  annual  statement  of  each  of 
these  classes ;  the  rank  which  their  laws  assign  them  in 
society  ;  the  pains  taken  by  the  Spanish  government 
to  prevent  the  unpeopling  of  the  mother- country  by 
emigration  to  America ;  the  severity  of  the  laws 
against  the  admission  of  foreigners  into  the  Spanish 
possessions  ;  the  manners  which  the  European  Spa- 
niards carry  thither ;  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Creoles ;  the  condition  of  the  slaves ;  and  of  the  freed- 
men,  &c.  &.c. 

The  fourth  chapter  treats  solely  of  the  Indians.  I 
was  unwilling  to  confound  this  primitive  population 


XXIV 


with  the  modern  mass  of  people  ;  because  it  offers 
peculiarities  of  sufficient  curiosity  to  occupy  a  birth 
of  its  own.  Local  tradition  and  public  monuments 
have  given  me,  concerning  the  Indian  forms  of  gov- 
ernment before  the  conquest,  as  well  as  their  charac- 
ter and  customs,  details  worthy  of  being  offered  to  the 
consideration  of  the  observer.  The  mode  prescribed 
by  the  laws  for  weaning  them  from  their  forests  and 
leading  them  to  social  life  is  not  void  of  interest. — 
Here  we  see  the  greatest  persuasives  of  morality  baf- 
fled by  the  aversion  which  the  savages  have  for  reli- 
gious and  civilized  customs.  Their  primitive  man- 
ners endure  for  ages  without  undergoing  the  slightest 
change  ;  their  propensity  to  terror,  their  supersti- 
tions, their  proneness  to  intoxication,  incest,  lying 
and  laziness,  have  resisted  for  more  than  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  the  efforts  made  by  the  missionaries 
to  make  them  abandon  these  pernicious  practices. 
You  preach  to  them  to  no  purpose  the  existence  of  a 
good*,  mild  and  merciful  god,  while  they  have  no  faith 
in  any  thing  but  the  devil.  They  furnish  an  exam- 
ple, rare  among  men,  of  not  admitting  a  good  princi- 
ple to  counterbalance  a  bad  one.  The  slowness  of 
their  progress  to  civilization,  or  rather  their  total 
want  of  it,  proceeds  from  the  too  great  lenity  with 
which  the  laws  direct  them  to  be  treated.  By  these, 
their  tastes,  and  fancies  are  indulged  instead  of  being 
opposed.  The  advice  of  friendship  is  employed  in 
the  place  of  reproof.  And  the  endeavours  to  make 
them  men  are  such  as  to  keep  them  in  perpetual  in- 
fancy. The  examination  of  these  questions  ends  in 
a  plan  of  a  new  system,  which  would  render  them 


XXV 

more    useful  both  to   the  colony  and  the   parent 
state. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  is' detailed  the  form  of  govern- 
ment which  Spain  has  devised  for  her  colonies  ;  toge- 
ther with  the  kind  of  connection  contrived  to  keep 
them  dependent  ;  the  functions  and  prerogatives  of 
the  principal  officers  appointed  by  the  king  ;  the  tri- 
bunals and  general  police  ;  and  the  organization, 
number  and  distribution  of  the  troops  destined  for 
the  defence  of  the  country.  It  may  be  remarked 
that  the  laws  forming  the  Spanish  colonial  code  are 
founded  in  great  foresight  and  profound  wisdom. — 
The  means  employed  to  guard  the  national  sove- 
reignty from  infringements,  and  to  prevent  the  abu- 
ses of  authority  which  the  great  distance  from  the 
mother  country  might  encourage,  are  so  ingeniously 
combined  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  a  master- 
piece of  legislation  for  modern  colonies,  as  to  their 
political  connection  with  the  mother  country. 

It  is  natural  indeed  to  suppose  that  territories  si- 
tuated from  two  to  five  thousand  leagues  from  the 
centre  of  authority,  being  twenty  times  more  exten- 
sive and  with  a  more  numerous  population,  have  not 
remained  during  three  hundred  years,  in  a  steady  and 
untroubled  dependence,  nor  without  giving  serious 
employment  to  the  genius  and  contemplation  of  the 
legislator.  I  ascribe  the  whole  merit  to  the  council 
of  the  Indies,  to  that  supreme  tribunal  which  de- 
cides upon  all  infractions  of  the  laws,  and  also  all 
usurpations  of  power  in  Spanish  America  ;  and  from 
which  proceeds  all  the  regulations  and  decrees  rela- 
ting to  the  government  of  the  colonies.  Europe 

VOL.  1.  D 


XXVI 

docs  not  furnish  an  example  of  a  tribunal  whose  de- 
cisions have  been  for  three  hundred  years  so  lumi- 
nous and  wise  as  those  of  the  council  of  the  Indies 
have  been  and  continue  to  be.  In  this  long  course  of 
experience  calumny  has  not  dared  to  reproach  them 
with  the  smallest  act  as  tarnished  with  prejudice,  igno- 
rance or  favour. 

Religion  is  too  intimately  blended  with  politics  in 
the  Spanish  government,  to  be  dispensed  with  in  the 
history  which  I  publish.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  tri- 
bunals of  the  inquisition,  much  more  mild  and  limit- 
ed than  they  were  formerly  ;  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  See,  which  by  concessions  of  the  early  popes 
was  restricted  in  the  Spanish  dominions  to  the  sole 
prerogative  of  investing  the  acts  of  the  king  with 
canonical  forms ;  the  powers  of  the  king  as  patron  of 
the  Indies  ;  the  organization  of  the  clergy  ;  the  com- 
petency of  the  ecclesiastical  tribunals,  the  mode  of 
nominating  bishops,  canons  and  priests  ;  and  the 
functions  of  missionaries  are  so  many  objects,  the 
discussion  of  which  cannot  but  be  interesting  to  the 
reader.  This  chapter  is  closed  by  an  examination  of 
the  delicate  question  whether  churches  ought  to  be 
asylums. 

The  seventh  chapter  contains  all  that  relates  to 
agriculture.  It  opens  with  the  titles  which  the  kings 
of  Spain  have  obtained,  to  make  grants  of  land  in 
the  new  world.  Then  follows  the  successive  methods 
of  disposing  of  these  lands.  I  then  pass  to  the  ana 
lysis  of  the  soil  of  eastern  Terra  Firma,  and  to  the 
different  articles  cultivated  there.  I  give  upon  the 
raising  and  manufacturing,  or  the  preparation  of  the 
produce,  all  the  details  which  a  residence  of  twenty- 


XXV11 

rvvo  years  In  the  colonies,  has  rendered  familiar  to 
me.  This  chapter  has  been  so  carefully  compiled 
as  not  to  be  uninteresting  to  any  modern  colonies.— 
Lastly,  I  examine  the  causes .  why  cultivation  is  on 
the  decline  in  Terra  Firma,  and  I  point  out  the  means 
of  restoring  to  it  that  activity  which  it  has  lately  lost. 

Territorial  productions  necessarily  attract  com- 
merce  ;  this  chapter  therefore,  is  naturally  inserted  af- 
ter that  on  cultivation.  The  commercial  system  which 
Spain  follows  in  respect  to  her  colonies,  has  forced  me 
to  recite  the  alterations  which  it  has  undergone,  and 
it  obliges  me  to  say,  in  honour  of  Spain,  that  this 
system  vicious  in  its  origin,  has  been  gradually  re- 
formed in  the  manner  that  is  most  conformable  to 
the  interests  of  a  mother  country,  which  cannot 
avoid  supplying  her  colonies  with  foreign  manufac- 
tures. Her  imports,  apparently  exorbitant,  are 
however,  found  upon  reflection  to  be  neither  the  off- 
spring of  accident  nor  of  ignorance,  but  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  the  fundamental  error  of  the 
system.  And  it  is  now  thirty  years  since  their  fiscal 
laws  have  been  smoothed  of  all  their  roughness,  and 
that  all  the  sacrifices  have  been  made  in  favour  of 
commerce,  which  could  be  reasonably  expected. 

Independent  of  its  connections  with  the  mother 
country,  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma,  enjoys 
with  the  other  Spanish  possessions  in  America,  a  very 
advantageous  and  reciprocal  trade ;  among  these  are 
Porto-Rico,  Cuba,  Vera-Cruz,  Carthagena,  and  St. 
Martha. 

The  laws  permit  the  exportation  to  the  different 
colonies  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  surplus  of 


xxvm 

their  live  stock,  hides,  skins,  drugs,  and  even  other 
articles  as  well  as  cacao,  with  the  leave  of  the  inten- 
dant,  which  he  readily  grants;  I  next  treat  of  contra- 
band, which  also  has  its  system.  All  these  different 
subjects  enter  into  my  8th  chapter,  and  are  concluded 
by  an  inquiry  into  the  consular  establishment  at  Ca- 
raccas,  and  by  the  rates  of  duties  on  imports  and 
exports. 

In  the  9th  chapter,  I  have  comprised  every  thing 
which  relates  to  the  finances.  It  will  thence  be  ap- 
parent that  until  1728,  when  the  Company  of  Gui- 
puscoa  was  established,  the  resources  of  the  eastern 
part  of  Terra  Firma  were  so  trifling  that  Spain  was 
obliged  to  send  yearly  from  Mexico  money  for  the 
officers,  troops,  and  all  other  public  expenses.  In 
1777,  the  finances  of  these  provinces  underwent  an 
organization,  which  proves  the  importance  they  had 
already  attained.  The  captain-general  of  Caraccas 
\vas  discharged  from  the  care  of  superintending 
them,  and  that  business  was  delegated  to  an  inten- 
dant ;  this  gave  to  the  whole  department  a  new  order 
and  a  new  lustre.  After  having  analyzed  the  func- 
tions and  prerogatives  of  the  intendant,  and  of  the 
officers  of  the  customs,  I  have  recited  the  origin  and 
object  of  each  impost  laid  on  the  colonies,  its  assess- 
ment, its  mode  of  collection,  and  its  annual  amount. 
This  description  is  followed  by  a  general  table  of 
receipts  and  expenditures, 

I  presume  there  are  very  few  readers  who  will  not 
think  the  details  contained  in  the  preceding  chapters 
are  fairly  within  the  limits  of  history;  but  the  pro- 
mise I  had  made  of  leaving  nothing  untold  concerning 


XXIX 


these  interesting  regions,  has  determined  me  to 
add  particular  to,  general  information,  by  making 
known  to  my  readers  the  resources  and  special  sub- 
jects of  industry  in  each  department  of  the  captain- 
generalship  of  Caraccas.  This  point  I  have  aimed  at 
in  the  10th  chapter  under  the  title  of  a  description  of 
the  Towns  and  their  dependencies.  I  have  delineated, 
not  only  the  situation,  temperature  and  population 
of  each  town,  but  likewise  the  character  of  the 
inhabitants,  the  quality  of  the  adjacent  lands,  the 
employment  of  labour,  the  course  of  trade,  the  spe- 
cies of  spontaneous  productions,  the  crops  which 
are  artificially  raised,  and  the  rivers  which  water 
the  respective  regions,  &c.  &c.  The  like  has  been 
done  in  respect  to  the  division  of  the  provinces  of 
the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma  into  cabildos,  erected 
in  each  town  whose  jurisdiction  embraces  all  the  ad- 
joining villages  as  far  as  the  boundary  of  the  neigh- 
bouring cabildo.  A  necessary  consequence  of  this 
method  is,  that  a  circumstantial  description  of  the 
seat  of  each  cabildo  and  its  territory,  constitutes  the 
most  complete  and  instructive  topography  which 
can  be  given  of  this  country. 

Spanish  Guiana  occupies  the  1 1th  chapter.  I  have 
condensed  in  it  all  that  I  have  to  say  on  this  pro- 
vince, for  the  purpose  of  an  advantageous  display  of 
it,  and  to  give  it  that  distinguished  rank  to  which  it 
is  entitled  in  the  catalogue  of  important  colonies. 
Watered  by  the  Oronoko,  which  runs  through  it  a 
distance  of  five  hundred  leagues,  and  which  receives 
in  its  course  a  prodigious  number  of  considerable 
rivers,  Spanish  Guiana  is  destined  by  nature  to  bc- 


XXX 

come  the  most  productive  province  of  America,  the 
commercial  centre  of  its  produce,  as  well  as  of  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  whose  navigable  streams 
empty  into  the  Oronoko. 

The  navigation  of  this  river,  the  mass  of  whose 
waters  is  at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  Amazons,  hav- 
ing hitherto  been  a  secret  among  a  few  pilots,  I 
have  considered  it  a  matter  of  necessity  to  ex- 
plain it  very  minutely ;  I  have  begun  with  the  navi- 
gation of  the  upper  part  of  the  river  towards  the 
capital  of  Guiana.  It  offers  but  little  that  interests 
the  foreign  merchant,  because  all  the  business  is  done 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  who  bring  the 
produce  to  St.  Tome.  It  is  therefore,  to  the  long 
and  perilous  navigation  of  the  Oronoko  from  its 
mouths  to  St.  Tome,  that  my  researches  have  been 
chiefly  directed.  The  unacquainted  navigator  must 
be  extremely  fortunate  in  his  choice  of  an  entrance,  if 
he  meets  with  no  obstacle  in  sailing  up  the  Oronoko, 
as  it  has  fifty  outlets,  almost  all  of  which  are  innavi- 
gable to  any  great  distance,  and  which  would  gene- 
rally lead  him  into  a  labyrinth  amidst  numberless 
islands,  from  which  he  could  extricate  himself  but 
•with  difficulty,  even  with  the  aid  of  the  compass.  Even 
the  most  navigable  branches  of  the  Oronoko  are  not 
without  these  difficulties ;  they  do  not  admit  vessels  of 
all  capacities.  Its  bed,  overspread  with  islands,  shoals 
and  rocks,  offers  a  continued  series  of  impediments 
which  practice  alone  can  overcome.  This  chapter  is 
not  the  less  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  informa- 
tion of  which  geography  and  navigation  stand  in  great 
need,  respecting  one  of  the  most  important  rivers  of  the 


XXXI 

globe.  My  discussion,  therefore,  has  the  merit  of 
being  the  only  one  that  has  appeared,  and  I  can  con- 
fidently vouch  for  its  correctness.  The  plan  of  the 
Oronoko,  from  its  outlets  to  St.  Tome,  was  executed 
by  the  order  of  the  king,  and  all  the  drafts  relative  to 
this  undertaking  have  been  deposited  in  the  office 
of  the  ministry. 

The  English,  whose  views  are  all  directed  to  com- 
merce, are  the  only  foreigners  who  have  as  much  in- 
formation as  the  Spaniards  themselves,  on  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Oronoko,  the  captain- generalship  of 
Caraccas,  and  the  other  Spanish  possessions;  and 
these  they  inundate  with  contraband  wares  and  mer- 

* 

chandize. 

Should  I  be  happy  enough  to  have  a  value  set  upon 
my  writings,  equal  to  the  toil  they  have  cost  me,  I  shall 
consider  as  a  favour  of  heaven  the  events  which  cast 
me  on  the  18th  of  January  1801,  upon  the  coasts  of 
Terra  Firma.  And  in  this  case,  I  ought  to  declare 
my  obligation  to  Gen.  Leclerc,  for  a  considerable  part 
of  my  success. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  at  St.  Domingo,  at  the  head 
of  the  army  sent  to  restore  order  there,  I  lost  no 
time  in  submitting  to  him  my  remarks  on  this  colony, 
and  explaining  to  him  my  literary  project.  The  part 
of  his  answer,  relative  to  this  latter  subject,  is  dated 
10th  Thermidor,  10th  year,  and  couched  in  the 
following  terms: 

"  I  regret  that  the  wants  of  the  army  which  I 
"  command,  do  not  enable  me  to  appropriate  at  this 
"  moment,  to  the  furtherance  of  natural  history,  the 
u  necessary  sums.  The  time  is  certainly  not  re- 


XXX11 

"  mote,  when  I  shall  have  it  in  my  power  to  do  all 
"  that  I  wish  in  this  respect.  In  the  mean  time,  I 
"  beg  you  to  accept  of  one  thousand  dollars,  which 
"  I  have  remitted  on  your  account ;  I  hope  this  sum 
"  will  give  you  the  means  of  continuing  your  useful 
u  labours.  I  shall  not  suffer  the  minister  of  the  in- 
"  terior  to  remain  ignorant  of  the  fact,  that  on  the 
u  American  continent  there  is  a  Frenchman  occu- 
"  pied  in  useful  inquiries." 

This  pecuniary  assistance  was  not  repeated  by 
reason  of  the  disastrous  event  of  his  death.  I  had 
therefore,  no  further  encouragement  than  the  opi- 
nion of  the  interest  which  the  commander  in  chief 
felt  in  my  enterprise.  His  exhortation  to  me  to 
continue  my  labours,  held  out  to  me  positive  and  di- 
rect claims  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  government ; 
and  there  was  no  need  of  any  further  inducement 
than  that  to  make  me  redouble  my  zeal,  activity  and 
application,  and  to  sacrifice  every  thing  to  the  cor- 
rectness, clearness  and  precision  requisite  in  the  pain- 
ful task  of  collecting  genuine  information  relative  to 
those  vast  and  highly  favoured  countries. 


A 

VOYAGE 

TO  THE 

EASTERN  PART  OF  TERRA  FIRMA, 

IN 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Learning  and  enterprising  spirit  of  Columbns. — Intrepidity  of  the  conquer- 
ors of  America. — Discovery  of  Terra  Firma  by  Columbus. — Ojeda  and 
Americus  Vespucius  pursue  his  steps. — Origin  of  the  Missionaries.— 
Two  Missionaries  go  to  exercise  their  ministry  at  Cumana. — Shocking 
occurrence  which  occasions  their  murder. — New  Missionaries  pass  to 
Cumana,  and  are  butchered  there. — First  military  expedition  to  Cuma- 
na.— Second  expedition. — The  Audience  of  St  Domingo  send  a  Commis- 
sary to  Coro. — Cession  of  the  province  of  Venezuela  to  the  Welsers. — Fe- 
rocity of  their  agents. — The  Welsers  are  dispossessed  of  it — Encomiendas. 
Their  object. — Their  utility. — Their  regimen. — Their  extinction — Causes 
which  occasioned  force  to  be  employed  at  Venezuela,  and  conciliatory  mea- 
sures to  be  abandoned. — Foundation  of  the  first  cities,  Barquisimeto,  Pal- 
mes the  same  as  Nirgua,  Truxillo,  Caraccas,  Maracaibo,  Carora,  St  Se- 
bastian de  los  Reyes. 


Learning  and  enterprising  spirit  of  Columbus. 

L  HE  discovery  of  America  justly  appears  to  us, 
as  it  will  continue  to  do  to  the  remotest  posterity,  a 
phenomenon,  and  its  conquest  a  prodigy.  Christo- 
pher Colnmbus,  being  well  versed  in  the  know- 
ledge of  both  Astronomy  and  Cosmography,  had 
judged  from  the  configuration  of  the  earth,  as  well 
as  from  the  theory  of  the  Antipodes,  which  was  still 
classed  among  the  doctrines  of  heresy,  that  the 
existence  of  another  hemisphere  was  indispensably 
necessary  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  of  the  globe. 
The  presentiment  of  the  ancients  opened  a  vast  field 
VOL.  I.  z 


to  his  meditations;  his  astronomical  and  geographical 
knowledge  supplied  what  was  wanting.  Plato,  Aris- 
totle Pliny  and  Strabo  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of 
the  problem  which  his  sagacity  enabled  him  to 
solve,  and  the  project  which  the  love  of  glory  impel- 
led him  to  execute. 

Envy,  that  gloomy  rival  of  merit,  has  taken  par- 
ticular pains  to  detract  from  that  of  Columbus,  by 
denying  that  great  man  such  a  portion  of  science  and 
talents  as  would  have  enabled  him  to  pursue  the 
train  of  ideas  which  would  have  theoretically  led 
him  to  suppose,  that  the  old  continent  did  not  com- 
prehend but  one  half  of  the  lands  which  composed 
the  globe,  and  that  the  other  half  remained  to  be 
discovered  in  the  west.  Malevolence  has  proclaimed 
that  Columbus  never  had  any  other  indications  of  the 
western  regions,  than  some  reeds,  trunks  of  trees, 
<ind  heaps  of  grass,  which  by  the  impulse  of  the  winds 
and  currents  were  driven  into  the  latitudes  of  Madei- 
ra and  the  Azores,  and  that  he  had  no  certainty  of 
their  existence  but  what  he  derived  from  the  jour- 
nals of  a  pilot  of  Andalusia,  named  Alphonso  San- 
chez de  Huelva,  who  having  been  cast  by  a  storm  on 
the  American  coast,  where  he  was  unable  to  victual, 
steered  his  course  to  Madeira,  where  Columbus  was 
then  settled.  Hunger  and  all  the  other  inconvenien- 
ces inseparable  from  so  fatiguing  a  voyage,  rendered 
this  pilot  and  four  men,  to  which  his  crew  were  redu- 
ced, so  many  skeletons,  which  all  the  attentions  of  a 
generous  hospitality  could  not  rescue  from  the  hand 
of  death.  Columbus  is  said  to  have  got  possession  of 
the  papers  of  the  pilot,  who  died  at  his  house,  and  to. 


have  formed  the  project  of  his  future  fortune  upon 
the  misfortunes  of  this  navigator. 

Admitting  as  facts,  what  justice  and  impartiality 
consider  but  as  doubtful  allegations,  is  not  the  execu- 
tion alone  of  so  bold  a  project  sufficient  to  immorta- 
lize the  name  of  the  great  man  who  undertook  it? — 
To  commit  his  life  and  fortune  to  unknown  seas,  upon 
the  faith  of  the  compass  as  yet  imperfect ;  to  perceive 
without  discouragement  a  variation  which  no  per- 
son  had  hitherto  observed  in  the  magnetic  needle  ;  to 
brave  the  discontent,  the  murmurs,  the  menaces  of  the 
timid  companions  of  his  enterprise  ;  to  announce,  at 
the  very  moment  when  it  was  most  seasonable,  lands, 
the  existence  of  which  had  been  always  at  least  pro- 
blematical, is  the  greatest  effort  of  that  genius  and 
intrepidity  which  smiles  at  obstacles,  and  of  that  perse- 
verance that  inflexibly  bears  up  against  every  reverse. 
A  man  of  this  character  will  never  pass  for  an  or- 
dinary man ;  and  a  discovery  of  this  description  will 
ever  bear  the  stamp  .of  what  is  great  and  admirable 
in  human  conduct.  Accordingly  the  year  1492,  when 
the  inhabitants  of  the  two  hemispheres  held  the  first 
interview,  will  form  one  of  the  most  memorable 
epochas  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  If  the  invasion 
of  the  new  world  had  been  founded  upon  any  just 
principles;  if  the  horrors  of  a  war  waged  against 
peaceful  nations  were  not  repugnant  to  reason  and 
justice :  if  a  yoke  imposed  upon  free  and  inoffen- 
sive men,  who  had  neither  ambition  nor  power  to  ex- 
cite fear,  were  not  an  outrage  committed  upon  hu- 
manity, and  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  law  of  nations, 
the  conquerers  of  America  would  merit  the  glory  of 


4 

being  enrolled  amongst  the  demi-gods,  with  juster 
pretensions  to  support  them  than  the  heroes  of  anti- 
quity could  boast,  even  if  fiction  should  have  for- 
borne to  exercise  the  privilege  which  belongs  to  her 
of  exaggerating  both  facts  and  virtues. 

The  day  will  certainly  come,  when  the  account 
will  appear  fabulous  which  states,  that  120  Spaniards 
having  embarked  in  three  small  vessels  bound  from 
Europe  to  America,  a  quarter  of  the  world  then  un- 
known, landed  in  the  island  of  St.  Dmingo,  inhabited 
by  1,500,000  Caribes  ;  that  they  took  possession  of  it 
inthe  name  of  his  Spanish  majesty  ;  that  they  con- 
structed fortifications  ;  that,  without  any  considera- 
ble reinforcement,  or  even  common  expense,  they 
succeeded  not  only  in  the  establishment  of  the  Spa- 
nish sovereignty,  but  even  in  the  total  extermination 
of  the  inhabitants. 

Whatever  may  be  the  weight  of  historical  testimo- 
ny, yet  when  that  becomes  destitute  of  every  sup- 
port but  that  of  a  confused  tradition,  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  persuade  people,  that  Cortez,  at  the  head  of 
508  soldiers  and  109  mariners  and  workmen,  of 
whom  13  only  were  armed  with  muskets,  and  32 
with  arquebusses,  had  the  courage  to  invade,  and 
actually  reduced  a  country  defended  by  6,000,000  of 
inhabitants,  enjoying  the  advantages  of  an  established 
government,  and  military  discipline. 

When  a  series  of  revolving  ages  shall  have  veiled  in 
the  obscurity  of  time  the  particulars  of  the  conquest 
of  America,  will  the  credit,  I  do  not  say  of  truth, 
but  of  possibility,  be  granted  to  the  conquest  of  the 
great  empire  of  Peru  by  _180  Spaniards  commanded 
by  Pizarro  ? 


But  successes  so  astonishing  lose  much  of  their  lus- 
tre, when  we  enter  upon  an  analysis  of  the  operations 
of  the  conquerors.     It  is  true  that  Spain  was  evident- 
ly too  weak,  to  add  to  her  domains  America  which  had 
a  population  twenty  times  greater  than  her  own,  and 
an  extent  of  territory  equal  or  superior  to  that  of  the 
whole  continent  of  Europe.     Besides,  the  Spaniards 
of  that  period,  unambitious  of  the  glory  of  conquer- 
ing, but  excessively  fond  of  riches,  left  the  task  of 
conquest  to  a  very  small  number,  and  did  not  fre- 
quent the  scenes  of  danger  till  the  rumour  of  the  gold 
and  silver,  there  discovered,  excited  their  cupidity. 
Whilst  the  dangers  and  the  toils  were  encounter- 
ed by  the  audacious  and  the  fool-hardy ;  all  the  ad- 
vantages were  seized  by  that  motley  crew  of  blood- 
suckers with   which   every    nation  swarms.     The 
handful  of  conquerors  were  obliged  to  make  cun- 
ning supply  the  deficiency  of  number;    falsehood, 
perjury,  cruelty,  ferocity,  the  excitement  of  civil  war 
among  the  unhappy  people  they  wished  to  subjugate ; 
such  were  the  arms  which  they  ceased  not  to  em- 
ploy ;  but  all  these  means  derived  their  efficacy  from 
the  courage,  valour,  intrepidity  and  firmness  of  the 
conquerors.     In  the  midst  of  crimes,  which  were  said 
to    be    indispensable,   we  distinguish    traits   capa- 
ble of  reflecting  honor  upon  human  nature.     Their 
conduct   presents   an    assemblage    of  virtues   and 
vices,  which  make  the  reader   successively  expe- 
rience the  sensations  of  admiration  and  horror.    The 
heart  is  alternately  expanded  and  contracted  in  con- 
templating a  series  of  actions,  in  which  there  is  a 
most  extraordinary  mixture  of  the  admirable  andhor- 


rible,  the  generous   and  ferocious,  the  faithful  and 
perfidious. 

My  undertaking  does  not  admit  of  pursuing  the 
steps  of  all  those  astonishing  men.  It  is  confined  to 
what  respects  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma  and 
Spanish  Guiana. 

Of  all  the  conquests  which  have  been  atchieved 
in  the  new  world,  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  mo- 
narch, that  of  those  parts  of  which  we  are  now  treat- 
ing was  the  longest,  the  most  toilsome,  and,  we  may 
add,  the  most  imperfect.  The  mountains  with  which 
this  country  is  covered,  the  multitude  of  rivers, 
whose  inundations  interrupt  the  communications  for  a 
great  part  of  the  year;  the  lakes,  marshes,  and  deserts, 
opposed  difficulties,  which  only  those  men  violently 
goaded  by  ambition  could  brave ;  but  what  must  have 
still  more  contributed  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  con- 
querors, in  several  parts  of  America,  was  the  multipli- 
city of  Indian  governments,  which  not  being  incorpo- 
rated so  as  to  form  one  nation,  like  those  of  Mexico  and 
Peru,  rendered  the  victories  of  the  Spaniards  less  deci- 
sive, and  their negociations  more  difficult.  Every  ca- 
cique waged  a  separate  war,  a  war  of  stratagem  and 
ambuscade ;  the  caciques  seldom  entered  into  leagues, 
and  seldomer  still  either  offered  or  received  battle 
in  the  open  field.  A  conquered  nation  gave  some- 
times no  more  than  four  leagues  of  additional  terri- 
tory to  the  conquerors ;  the  country  was  disputed  by 
inches,  and  its  conquest  effected  by  dint  of  courage, 
patience,  privations  and  dangers. 


Discovery  of  Terra  Firma  by  Columbus. 

Terra  Firma  was  not  discovered  until  the  year 
1498,  and  that  glory  too  was  reserved  for  Christopher 
Columbus.  It  was  the  third  voyage  that  he  made 
from  Spain  to  America.  His  project  was  to  advance 
to  the  south  as  far  as  the  equator  ;  but  the  calms  pre- 
vented him,  and  he  was  carried  by  the  currents  to 
the  Mouths  of  the  Dragons,  situated  between  the 
island  and  Terra  Firma.  Lopez  de  Gomara  main- 
tains that  Columbus  discovered  all  the  coast  as  far 
as  Cape  de  Vela;  but  Oviedo,  whose  testimony  I 
have  learnt  to  respect,  from  the  character  for  accuracv, 
which  he  sustains  amongst  his  own  countrymen,  says 
that  Columbus  did  not  sail  along  the  coast  of  Terra 
Firma,  farther  than  the  point  of  Araya,  which  is  north 
and  south  of  the  point  west  of  Margaretta,*from  which 
he  steered  a  northern  course  in  order  to  repair  to  St. 
Domingo,  Don  Fernando  Columbus,  son  of  the  ad- 
miral, says  that  his  father,  after  having  discovered  the 
gulf  of  Paria,  coasted  along  Terra  Firma  as  far  west 
as  the  Testigo  Islands,  from  which  point  he  sailed 
with  a  fair  wind  to  St.  Domingo  ;  an  account  which 
too  nearly  corresponds  with  what  is  related  by  Ovie- 
do, not  to  consign  the  assertion  of  Lopez  de  Gomara 
to  the  list  of  inaccuracies,  which  are  so  frequent 
with  him. 

Ojeda  and  Americus  Fespucius  pursue  his  steps. 

Upon  the  account  which  Columbus  rendered  to 
the  Spanish  court,  of  the  discover}-  of  that  part  of 
Terra  Firma,  of  the  manners  of  the  inhabitants 

,    *  Qia  est  nord  et  sud  de  la  pointe  ouest  de  la  Marguerite 


8 

with  whom  he  had  intercourse,  and  of  the  riches 
which  he  had  observed,  consisting  chiefly  of  pearls, 
the  government  gave  Captain  Alphonso  Ojeda  per 
mission  to  continue  the  discovery.  Americus  Ves- 
pucius,  the  man  who  enjoys  a  celebrity  usurped 
from  Columbus,  became  interested  in  that  arma- 
ment, and  resolved  upon  a  voyage  to  America,  yield- 
ing rather  to  the  impulse  of  interest  than  of  glory. 
Ojeda  arrived  in  twenty-five  days  at  the  territory  of 
Maracapana  in  the  year  1499.  He  followed  the 
coast  as  far  as  Cape  de  la  Vela,  entering  into  several 
ports  in  order  to  collect  more  minute  information. 
From  Cape  de  la  Vela  he  sailed  for  St.  Domingo, 
according  to  Oviedo  and  Robertson ;  but  according 
to  Charlevoix,  he  returned  before  that  to  Maraca- 
pana, a  village  situated  upon  the  coast  of  Cumana. 
where  he  caused  a  brig  to  be  built. 

Upon  his  return  to  Spain,  he  found  means  to  per- 
suade his  countrymen,  that  the  true  discovery  of 
America  was  due  to  himself,  since  Columbus  had 
discovered  but  a  few  islands,  which  were  merely  to 
be  considered  as  its  avenues.  His  imposture  at  first 
passed  for  truth;  his  name  was  given  to  the  new 
world,  which  it  continues  to  retain,  notwithstanding 
the  efforts  of  history  to  restore  that  honour  to  Co- 
lumbus. 

Spanish  vessels  go  to  trade  there. 

Not  long  after,  the  account  of  Columbus  to  the 
Spanish  government  attracted  to  Terra  Firma  ano- 
ther vessel  from  Spain,  whose  only  object  was  com- 
merce, but  which  had  permission  from  the  king  to 
prosecute  the  discovery  of  the  country.  This  vessel 


commanded  by  Christopher  Guerra,  touched  at 
the  coast  of  Paria,  at  Margaretta,  Cubagua  and 
Cumanagola,  now  called  Barcelona.  In  those  dif- 
ferent places,  in  exchange  for  gew-gaws,  he  ob- 
tained a  great  quantity  of  pearls,  gold,  Brazil 
wood,  &c.  of  which  he  formed  a  very  rich  cargo. 
Guerra  pursued  his  course  along  the  coast  to  the 
westward,  and  landed  only  at  Coro,  where  he  found, 
to  his  great  astonishment,  some  Indians  as  much  dis- 
posed to  take  away  from  him  whatever  he  had  got, 
as  those  on  the  eastern  coast  were  ready  to  give. 
He  had  too  much  to  lose,  to  run  the  risk  of  a  war,  by 
which  neither  glory  nor  emolument  was  to  be  acquir- 
ed. He,  therefore,  wisely  took  the  resolution  of  re- 
turning  to  Spain,  in  order  to  place  his  riches  out  of 
the  reach  of  danger. 

The  noise  of  his  arrival  and  fortune  spread  over 
the  whole  kingdom,  and  immediately  from  every  part 
expeditions  were  fitted  out  for  Terra  Firma.  At 
the  same  time,  Charles  the  Fifth  gave  permission  to 
make  slaves  of  the  Indians,  who  should  impede  or 
embarrass  the  conquest;  a  disposition  so  much  the 
more  deplorable  to  humanity,  as  it  strongly  excited 
the  cupidity  of  those  who  would  sacrifice  every 
thing  at  the  shrine  of  avarice.  It  is  easy  to  imagine, 
that  upon  those  coasts,  where  robbery  had  nothing 
to  fear  either  from  the  vigilance  of  the  magistrate, 
or  the  sword  of  justice,  there  must  have  been  estab- 
lished an  infamous  kind  of  commerce,  which  had 
no  other  object  but  avidity,  no  other  result  but  rapa- 
city, tyranny  and  ferocity.  The  crimes  committed 
by  that  swarm  of  robbers,  who  contended  with  one 

Voi.  J.  F 


10 

another  for  superiority  in  feats  of  plunder,  were  so 
great  and  so  numerous,  that  the  cries  of  the  vie- 
tims  reached  the  audience  of  St.  Domingo,  who  are 
entitled  to  our  applause,  for  having  immediately  pro- 
videdby  the  measures  which  they  adopted,  that  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  new  world,  whom  they  wished  to 
lead  rather  than  to  drive  into  obedience,  the  enor- 
mities  of  that  scum  of  the  Spanish  nation,  might  no< 
appear  chargeable  to  the  nation  itself.  The  audience 
sent  thither  in  quality  of  commissary  and  governor, 
a  man  of  very  great  merit,  named  John  Ampues, 
who  arrived  on  the  Coriana  coast  in  1527,  with  60 
men.  But  before  I  take  a  view  of  his  administra- 
tion >  chronological  order  obliges  me  to  make  a  di- 
gression in  favour  of  Cumana. 

Origin  of  the  Missionaries. 

It  is  well  known  that  Columbus,  in  order  to  recom- 
mend his  project  of  discovery  to  the  attention  of  the 
Spanish  court,  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  soli- 
citation and  perseverance ;  so  difficult  it  was  to  per- 
suade them  that  the  regions  which  he  announced 
were  not  altogether  imaginary.  Ferdinand  himself 
thought  that  he  consulted  his  dignity  by  declining  to 
subscribe,  as  king  of  Arragon,  the  treaty  that  was 
concluded  at  St.  Fee,  the  1st  of  April  1492,  between 
their  majesties  and  Columbus.  Isabella,  being  the 
only  person  who  had  suffered  herself  to  be,  I  will 
not  say,  convinced,  but  dazzled,  had  likewise  engag- 
ed to  defray  from  her  own  private  purse,  the  expenses 
of  the  expedition  j  and  it  is  by  virtue  of  that  clause, 
that  the  ports  of  America  were,  for  a  long  time,  ex- 


11 

clusively  opened  to  the  subjects  of  Castile,  and  shut 
to  those  of  Arragon.  It  was  by  no  means  surprising, 
then,  that  no  examination  had  been  instituted  re- 
specting the  rights  which  an  European  king  might  as- 
sert over  America,  when  its  very  existence  was  still 
a  subject  of  doubt  and  controversy  ;  but  ideas,  opin- 
ions, projects,  and  measures,  must  have  undergone 
a  total  revolution,  after  the  event  had  proved  the  re- 
ality of  what  had  hitherto  been  considered  as  vision- 
ary. Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  unable  to  justify  to  the 
world  the  usurpation  of  countries  discovered,  and  to 
be  discovered,  endeavoured  to  reconcile  themselves, 
at  least  to  their  own  conscience,  by  converting  it  into 
a  right  under  the  sanction  of  the  visible  head  of  the 
universal  church.  They  engaged  to  propagate  the 
faith  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  world,  and 
to  make  regions,  till  then  unknown,  a  new  domain 
of  the  Christian  religion.  Alexander  I.  yielding,  as 
some  think,  to  these  motives,  or,  as  others,  to  politi- 
cal reasons,  consecrated  by  a  bull  the  demand  of 
the  Spanish  monarchs.  From  that  time  these  con- 
quests were  regarded  rather  as  crusades,  than  milita- 
ry expeditions.  The  government  ardently  embraced 
a  system,  which  they  have  never  abandoned,  not  to 
employ  force  against  the  Indians  till  they  exhausted 
every  moral  and  persuasive  means.  It  has  always 
been  the  desire  of  the  Spanish  monarchs,  that  their 
conversion  to  Christianity  should  precede  their  sub- 
jection to  vassalage.  Jn  consequence  of  this  plan, 
which  has  never  been  violated,  but  without  the  know- 
ledge, and  against  the  will  of  the  king,  Columbus, 
in  his  second  voyage,  carried  with  him  two  friars,  in 


12 

order  to  plant  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo  the  first 
seeds  of  the  faith.  These  ministers  of  the  God  of 
peace,  and  those  that  succeeded  them,  were  rarely  sr- 
conded,  but  very  often  thwarted  by  the  civil  and  mili- 
tary authorities.  Disagreeable  witnesses  of  the  mis- 
demeanors of  the  Spaniards,  whom  the  thirst  of  gold 
had  attracted  to  the  new  world,  they  became  ob- 
jects of  hatred  to  all  who  abused  authority.  Guilt, 
always  bold,  hastened  to  accuse  timid  innocence. 
The  missionaries  were  often  obliged  to  vindicate 
themselves  against  absurd  accusations,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  prevent  those  which  the  friars  might 
raise  against  their  accusers. 

Two  Missionaries  go  to  exercise  their  Ministry  at 
Citmana. 

All  these  obstacles  suggested  to  Father  Cor- 
doue  the  idea  of  requesting  permission  of  the  king, 
which  was  granted,  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel  in 
those  parts  of  America,  where  the  Spaniards  might 
not  yet  have  penetrated.  He  chose  for  this  experi- 
ment the  coast  of  Cumana.  Unable  to  undertake  the 
mission  himself,  he  supplied  his  place  by  sending  the 
fathers  Francis  Cordoue,  his  brother,  and  John  Gar- 
ces.  The  order  of  the  king  to  the  governor  of  the 
Spanish  island  expressly  insisted  upon  his  favouring 
the  apostolic  mission.  Accordingly,  its  execution 
was  attended  to  with  promptness  and  punctuality. 

These  friars  repaired  in  1512  to  the  place  of  their 
destination,  without  any  arms,  but  those  of  morality, 
without  any  safeguard,  but  that  of  providence.  Un- 
der these  happy  auspices  they  commenced  their  apos- 


13 

tolic  labours.  The  Indians,  naturally  mild,  at  least 
much  more  so  than  those  who  were  found  in  the 
western  part  of  the  same  coast,  beheld  in  these  two 
friars  beings  of  a  divine  nature,  whose  counsels  they 
scrupulously  observed,  and  whose  desires  they  exe- 
cuted with  submission.  Every  thing  announced  that 
this  mission  would  be  crowned  with  the  happiest  and 
most  rapid  success,  when  a  disastrous  event  blasted 
at  once  those  flattering  expectations. 

An  infamous  occurrence  which  occasions  their  being 
murdered. 

One  of  those  ships  of  St.  Domingo,  which  were, 
for  twelve  years,  committing  every  kind  of  robbery 
and  piracy  upon  these  coasts,  landed  at  Cumana. 
The  friars,  thinking  that  this  vessel  was  come  in  or- 
der to  carry  on  fair  trade,  embraced  this  opportunity 
of  forming  a  friendly  intercourse  between  the  Spa- 
niards and  Indians.  They  gave  the  most  kind  and 
honourable  reception  to  the  captain  and  crew,  and 
hospitably  entertained  them,  in  celebration  of  this 
mutual  profession  of  amity  and  friendship.  The  In- 
dians, unwilling  to  disappoint  the  wishes  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, were  lavish  in  bestowing  upon  the  Spaniards 
marks  of  the  most  perfect  cordiality.  Under  pre- 
tence of  making  a  suitable  return  to  these  unequivo- 
cal demonstrations  of  sincere  attachment,  the  Spa- 
niards invited  to  dinner,  on  board  their  ship,  the  ca- 
|  cique,  his  spouse,  and  seventeen  Indians,  who  grate- 
fully accepted  the  invitation ;  but  these  unfortunate 
creatures  were  no  sooner  on  board  than  the  ship 
made  sail  for  the  island  of  St.  Domingo.  This  act 


14 

of  rapine,  in  which  was  combined  whatever  is  most 
odious  in  perfidy,  or  most  horrible  in  villainy,  be- 
came the  signal  of  an  immediate  revolt  among  the  In- 
dians, and  of  a  decree  of  death  against  the  poor  friars. 
They  reproached  them,  with  apparent  reason,  with 
having  been  the  cause,  or,  at  least,  the  intermediate 
instruments  of  that  detestable  outrage.  Nor  is  this  to 
be  wondered  at ;  for  how  could  savages  be  made  to 
understand,  that  all  the  men  of  one  nation,  to  which 
they  are  strangers,  have  not,  like  animals  of  the  same 
species,  the  same  habits,  the  same  inclinations,  the 
same  blemishes,  the  same  qualities,  in  short,  a  com- 
mon  uniform  type.  All  that  a  remembrance  of  the 
great  veneration  with  which  they  were  lately  regard- 
ed, could  operate  in  their  favour,  was  the  respite  of 
four  moons,  in  order  to  procure  from  St.  Domingo  a 
return  of  the  Indians  that  were  carried  off  from  Cu- 
mana.  Their  pardon  depended  upon  the  success  of 
this  negociation.  They  wrote  to  the  audience  in  the 
strongest  terms.  All  the  friars  of  St.  Domingo  ear- 
nestly solicited  for  their  being  returned  ;  but  to  no 
purpose.  The  members  of  the  audience  were  them- 
selves become  accomplices  of  the  crime,  and  it  be- 
hoved them  to  be  possessed  of  more  integrity  than  any 
of  those  who  at  that  time  came  to  enrich  themselves  in 
America,  to  be  capable  of  pronouncing  the  sentence 
of  their  own  condemnation.  As  soon  as  the  four 
moons  were  expired,  Cordoue  and  Garces  were  butch- 
ered in  cold  blood  by  the  Indians.  Some  time  elapsed 
before  the  Indians  of  Cumana  had  any  intercourse 
with  the  Spaniards.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1516, 
that  three  Dominicans  had  the  courage,  from  the  isl- 


and  of  Cubagua,  where  the  Spaniards  carried  on  the 
pearl-fishery,  to  pass  to  Terra  Firma.  But  the  mo- 
ment  they  landed,  they  became  the  victims  of  their 
zeal,  and  were  devoured  by  the  Cannibals,  whom 
they  wished  to  convert. 

New  Missionaries  pass  to  Cumana  and  are  butchered 

there. 

The  news  of  their  death,  far  from  discouraging 
this  class  of  men,  whose  zeal  was  so  much  the  purer  r 
as  their  pious  resignation  continually  exposed  them 
to  dangers  without  any  prospect  of  personal  advan- 
tage, to  privations  without  the  vicissitude  of  enjoy- 
ment, served  only  to  determine  other  friars  of  the 
same  order  to  pass  to  the  same  part  of  the  continent 
where  their  brethren  had  been  so  unfortunate.  They 
established  themselves  atChiribichi,near  Maracapana 
and  Cumana,  where  they  founded  two  convents.  They 
preached  the  gospel  with  every  appearance  of  suc- 
cess ;  and  appeared  to  have  so  far  conciliated  the  af- 
fections of  the  Indians,  as  to  receive  proofs  from  them 
of  the  greatest  veneration.  In  consequence  of  this 
pacific  disposition  the  Spaniards  carried  on  traffic  up- 
on these  coasts  with  perfect  security.  Every  thing 
promised  a  sweet,  insensible  transition  from  the  sa- 
vage to  the  civil  state,  from  brutal  independence  to 
submission  to  the  Spanish  monarchy.  This  period 
of  social  harmony  that  held  out  such  flattering  hopes, 
lasted  two  years  and  a  half,  at  the  end  of  which  these 
ferocious  Indians,  regretting  that  they  had  renounc- 
ed their  ancient  habits,  made  a  violent  attack  upon 
the  Friars  of  Chiribichi,  at  the  very  time  that  they 
were  celebrating  mass,  and  massacred  them  without 


mercy.  At  the  same  time  they  set  fire  to  the  con- 
vent  of  Cumana ;  but  the  friars  were  fortunate  enough 
tomake  theirescape  in  canoes  to  the  island  of  Cubagua* 
All  the  Spaniards  scattered  over  the  coast  were  likewise 
./  butchered.  All  this  happened  about  the  end  of  1519. 

First  Military  Expedition  to  Cumana. 

As  soon  as  the  audience  of  St.  Domingo  were 
apprized  of  the  late  catastrophe  in  Terra  Firma, 
they  dispatched  Gonzalo  Ocampo  to  that  place, 
with  three  hundred  men,  to  avenge  those  atrocious 
acts.  For  the  detection  and  punishment  of  the  prin- 
cipal offenders,  that  officer  employed  such  artful  ex- 
pedients as  completely  answered  the  purpose.  After 
having  inflicted  upon  them  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crime,  he  took  his  station  at  Cubagua,  and  from  that 
place  made  such  frequent  and  powerful  incursions 
upon  the  coasts  of  Cumana,  as  compelled  the  Indians 
to  sue  for  peace,  promising  their  friendship  and  as- 
sistance to  establish  him  amongst  them.  He  receiv- 
ed them  into  favour,  taking  at  the  same  time,  the  ne- 
cessary measures  to  prevent  their  promises  from  be- 
coming illusory,  and  availed  himself  of  the  good  dis- 
positions of  the  cacique,  in  building,  with  his  assist- 
ance, a  city,  to  which  he  vainly  gave  the  name  of 
Toledo  ;  for  the  Indian  name  Cumana  has  acquired 
such  a  currency,  that  no  one  knows  it  under  that  of 
Toledo. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Barthelemi  De  Las  Casas, 
that  apostle  of  Indian  liberty  and  African  slavery,  to 
whom  history  has  decreed  the  title  of  philanthropist, 
when  he  merited  the  epithet  of  Indiomane,*  arrived 
from  Spain,  honoured  with  the  appointment  of  go- 

*  Ir.dian-mad. 


17 

vernor  of  Cumana,  conferred  on  him  by  Charles  V* 
and  accompanied  by  300  labourers,  destined  to  form 
the  beginning  of  a  new  colony,  and  clad  in  an  un- 
common style,   in  order  to  make  the  Indians  believe 
that  they  were  not  Spaniards.     By  concealing  their 
names,  he  sought  to  establish  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Spanish  monarch  ;  but,  upon  the  present  occasion, 
we  forbear  remarking  on  the  ridiculous   absurdity 
of  these  views ;  it  is  of  greater  importance  to  the 
reader  to  be  informed,  that  Gonzalo  Ocampo  refused 
to  lay  down  his  authority  in  his  favour  ;    and  that 
there  arose  between  them  and  those  men  who  were 
expressly  devoted  to  their  orders,  a  division,  which 
could  not  fail  to  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal  con- 
sequences, as  was  proved  by  the  event.     Las-Casas 
repaired  to  St.  Domingo  in  order  to  submit  the  point 
at  variance  to  the  judgment  of  the  audience.    Ocam- 
po followed  close  after  him,  whilst  all  his  adherents 
took  likewise  their  departure  from  that  place.    The 
Indians,  who  had  submitted  from  compulsion,   not 
from  inclination,  beheld  in  this  discord  which  pre- 
vailed amongst  the   Spaniards,  but  particularly  in 
the  absence  of  their  chiefs,  and  the  evacuation  of 
Ocampo's  troops,  a  favourable  opportunity  for  shaking 
off  the  yoke,  which  they  did  not  fail  to  embrace. — 
They  made  an  unexpected  attack  in  the  night  time 
on  the  barracks  where  the  workmen  of  Lus-Casas 
lodged,  and  massacred  them.     A  very  small  part  of 
them  made  their  escape  in  canoes  to  the  island  of  Cu- 
bagua.     All  the  Spaniards  that  were  scattered  upon 
the  coast  suffered  the  same  fate.     It  was  not  till  the 
year  1525,  that  the  audience  of  St.  Domingo  dis- 
VOL.  I  G 


18 

patched  James  Castellon  to  Cumana,  with  a  force 
sufficient  to  command  respect  for  the  Spanish  name, 
and  to  form  durable  establishments  in  that  quarter. 
This  officer  showed  so  much  address  in  the  employ- 
ment offeree  and  persuasion,  rigor  and  indulgence, 
that  the  Indians  suffered  him  unmolested  to  build  a 
city,  defended  by  an  excellent  fort,  which  the  natives 
have  never  taken  or  attacked.  The  pearl-fishery, 
which  had  suffered  much  from  the  misfortunes  which 
took  place  at  Cumana,  was  re-established.  The 
Spaniards  for  a  long  time  did  no  more  than  maintain 
themselves  in  that  position.  The  reader  is  unap- 
prized,  that  the  reduction  of  the  rest  of  this  province 
has  been  attempted  or  accomplished  with  some  suc- 
cess as  late  as  the  year  1656;  that  it  was  committed 
to  missionaries,  who  have  never  yet  finished  that  great 
work.  As  the  details  of  every  thing  that  concerns 
this  province,  are  to  find  place  in  the  description  which 
shall  be  particularly  set  a  part  for  it,  it  is  high  time 
that  I  should  return  to  the  province  of  Venezuela, 
which  was  the  theatre  where  the  Europeans  made  the 
most  signal  displays  of  ambition,  cupidity  and  avarice. 

The  audience  of  St.  Domingo  send  a   Commissary  to 

Coi'o. 

John  Ampues,  as  has  been  already  mentioned, 
had  repaired  to  Coro  in  1527  with  the  command 
of  sixty  men,  by  order  of  the  audience  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, in  order  to  suppress  the  robberies,  which 
the  absence  of  all  public  authority  engaged  the  Spa- 
niards to  commit  over  the  whole  extent  of  Terra  Fir- 
ma.  This  choice,  which  reflected  honor  on  the  tri- 
bunal, could  not  fall  upon  a  man  more  worthy  of  ful- 


19 

filling  so  delicate  a  mission.  He  openly  declared 
himself  the  enemy  of  oppressors,  and  the  defender  of 
the  oppressed.  His  mildness,  his  affability,  his 
knowledge  soon  gained  the  confidence  and  friendship 
of  the  cacique  of  the  Coriana  nation.  A  solemn  trea- 
ty consecrated  the  union  and  alliance  which  they  form- 
ed, and  the  cacique  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and 
vassalage  to  the  Spanish  monarch. 

Ampues,  having  thus  secured  peaceable  possession 
of  the  country  where  this  cacique  governed,  chose  a 
convenient  spot  for  building  a  city.  On  the  26th  of 
July,  1527,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  Coro,  aid- 
ed rather  than  thwarted  by  the  Indians.  The  pro- 
jects of  Ampues  were  vast,  but  wise.  He  entertain- 
ed reasonable  expectations,  that  the  same  proceed- 
ings which  had  made  the  Coriana  nation  submis- 
sive to  his  authority,  would  gradually  produce  the 
same  effect  upon  the  other  nations,  and  that  exam- 
ple, as  well  as  precept,  would  inspire  them  with  the 
love  of  industry,  so  as  insensibly  to  change  that  sa- 
vage people  into  cultivators  of  the  soil.  Thus,  the 
province  of  Venezuela  had  the  pleasing  prospect 
of  arriving,  without  commotion,  without  a  shock,  to 
a  prosperity  which  would  crown  the  happiness  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  Spanish  sovereignty  would  like- 
wise be  established  amongst  them  upon  the  solid  ba- 
sis of  love  and  gratitude  ;  but  that  concatenation  of 
secondary  causes,  ordained  by  providence,  by  some 
called  destiny,  had  not  so  ordered  it. 

Cession  of  the  Province  of  Venezuela  to  the  JVelsers. 

The  Spanish  and  imperial  crowns  were  united  upon 
one  head.     This  mass  of  power,  more  than  sufficient 


20 

to  satisfy  any  ambition  which  was  not  unbounded, 
served  only  to  inflame  that  of  Charles  V.  It  was  not 
enough  for  him  to  be  the  greatest  monarch  in  Europe, 
but  he  must  be  the  only  one.  Instead  of  maintaining 
her  tranquillity,  as  he  could,  he  kept  her  in  continual 
commotions.  He  passed  his  life  in  forming  or  op- 
posing leagues.  His  head  was  so  filled  with  military 
projects,  that  the  balance  of  the  political  interests  of 
Europe,  which  his  great  preponderance  had  placed 
in  his  hands,  found  no  equilibrium,  but  when  it  es- 
caped from  them.  Sixty  battles,  which  served  only  to 
swell  his  pride,  instead  of  augmenting  his  glory,  had 
no  other  result  than  the  depopulation  of  his  estates 
and  the  total  derangement  of  his  finances.  Under 
princes  of  such  a  character,  ruinous  operations  are 
continually  inflicting  on  the  state  wounds  which 
cannot  be  cicatrized  till  after  a  long  lapse  of  time. 
The  enumeration  of  all  those  that  were  inflicted  un- 
der Charles  V.  is  foreign  to  my  subject.  I  shall  con- 
fine my  attention  to  that  alone  which  has  so  severely 
affected  the  province  of  Venezuela. 

The  commercial  house  of  the  Welsers,  established 
at  Augsburg,  the  most  respectable  for  their  credit  and 
capital  of  any  then  in  existence,  were  considerably  in 
advance  to  Charles  V.  They  completely  supplied 
the  deficit  resulting  from  the  insufficiency  of  the  re- 
ceipts to  cover  the  expenditures.  The  emperor  was 
obliged,  in  this  instance,  to  receive  the  law,  not  in 
consideration  of  the  sums  he  had  already  received, 
but  of  those  he  further  expected.  He  subscribed  to 
the  demands  which  the  Welsers  made,  of  granting 
them,  under  the  title  of  an  hereditary  fief  of  the  crown, 


21 

the  province  of  Venezuela,  from  Cape  de  la  Vela  as 
far  as  Maracapana,  with  the  right  of  extending  inde- 
finitely towards  the  south.  At  the  moment  of  closing 
this  transaction,  news  of  the  wise  and  happy  adminis- 
tration of  John  Ampues,  who  then  governed  the  pro- 
vince, arrived  at  the  Spanish  court.  Oviedo  does 
honour  to  the  emperor  by  supposing  that  he  hesitat- 
ed :  It  was  all  that  the  historian  could  do  ;  because 
the  fact  would  have  appeared  in  direct  contradiction 
to  his  assertions  ;  at  least,  we  have  it  on  record 
that  the  grant  was  solemnly  made  on  the  following 
conditions  : 

1st.  The  company  wrere  obliged  to  found,  in  the 
the  space  of  two  years,  two  cities  and  three  forts. 

2d.  They  were  to  arm  four  ships  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  300  Spaniards,  and  50  German  master-mi- 
ners, who  were  to  be  extended  over  all  the  Indies, 
at  the  expense  of  the  company,  and  to  work  the  mines 
for  their  benefit. 

3d.  The  emperor  was  to  grant  the  title  of  Adelan- 
tado  to  the  person  whom  the  Welsers  should  nomi- 
nate. 

4th.  He  was  to  allow  them  4  per  cent  on  one  fifth 
part  accruing  to  the  crown  from  the  mines,  which 
they  should  work,  and  another  extent  of  land  of 
twelve  leagues  square,  in  the  conquered  part  of  the 
country  which  they  should  chuse. 

5th.  A  power  was  given  of  making  slaves  of  the 
Indians  who  should  refuse  to  submit  without  force. 

None  of  these  articles  was  carried  into  execu- 
tion, excepting  such  as  were  favourable  to  the  Ger- 
mans, particularly  the  fifth,  the  execution  of  which 


22 

received  a  deplorable  extension.  Oviedo  speaks  and 
he  seldom  speaks  without  proof,  of  a  protector  of  the 
Indians,  called  Father  Montesillo,  nominated  at  that 
period  by  the  emperor,  in  order  to  exercise  that  func- 
tion in  the  same  province.  Even  the  tithes  were 
adjudged  to  him  to  be  employed  for  such  pur- 
poses as  his  conscience  should  direct.  It  appears, 
from  the  silence  of  historians,  and  from  the  horrible 
administration  which  was  exercised  in  the  depart- 
ment that  was  assigned  to  him,  either  that  he  did 
not  repair  to  his  post,  or  that  he  became  the  accom- 
plice of  all  the  crimes  which  by  his  office  he  was 
bound  to  prevent. 

Ferocity  of  the  Agents  of  the  Welsers. 

It  would  argue  ignorance  of  the  human  heart,  not 
to  see  at  the  first  glance,  all  the  misfortunes,  that 
were  to  result  from  this  treaty  to  the  province  of  Ve- 
nezuela, and  even  to  the  Spanish  government. — 
How,  indeed  could  a  speculation,  purely  commer- 
cial, which  does  not  seem  to  thrive  but  in  proportion 
to  the  promptitude,  and  amount  of  the  profits,  be 
changed  into  an  agricultural  speculation,  in  which 
the  toilsome  exertions  of  the  parents  procure  but  a 
scanty^>ubsistcnce  for  their  children  ?  How  could  Ger- 
mans, who  had  neither  access,  nor  credit  at  the  Spa- 
nish court,  but  what  depended  on  the  circumstance 
which  had  placed  the  imperial  sceptre  \\  the  hands  of 
the  Spanish  monarch,  be  induced  to  set  afloat  consi- 
derable sums  of  money  in  a  country,  of  which  it 
would  be  impossible  for  them  to  retain  possession, 
far  less  the  sovereignty,  a  single  moment  after  the 


23 

demise  of  Charles  V  ?  Their  true  policy  was  to  de- 
rive all  the  advantages  which  the  actual  state  of  the 
country  could  afford,  without  throwing  their  funds 
into  jeopardy,  by  applying  them  to  the  improvement 
of  possession?,  which  they  held  by  so  precarious  a 
tenure.  Let  plunder,  devastation  and  every  crime 
that  man  can  imagine  or  commit,  complete  the  infa- 
my and  execration  of  the  Spanish  name  in  those  re- 
gions. Such  an  exposure  would  appear  trifling  to  the 
eyes  of  foreigners,  who  were  only  to  remain  there, 
for  the  time  necessary  to  amass  their  booty.  The 
fact  is,  that  their  conduct  has  far  exceeded  every 
thing  that  reason  had  been  able  to  foresee. 

The  execution  of  this  fatal  treaty  was  committed 
to  Ambrose  Alfinger,  whom  the  company  nomina- 
ted governor  of  their  new  domain.  Another  Ger- 
man, named  Sailler,  was  appointed  his  lieutenant. 
Four  hundred  adventurers  formed  the  body  of  the  ex- 
pedition, who  took  their  departure  in  the  year  1528,  and 
arrived  the  same  year  at  Coro.  The  government  was 
without  difficulty  resigned  by  John  Ampues  in  favor  of 
Alfinger,  who  took  immediate  information  of  the  re- 
sources, which  the  country  presented  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  avarice.  He  expected  to  find  there  mines  of 
gold  more  abundant  than  those  of  Cibao  and  Mexico, 
whose  renown,  at  that  time,  resounded  all  over 
Europe.  But  when  he  understood,  that  there  was 
no  mine  wrought  there  ;  that  the  Indians  formed 
but  small  scattered  settlements,  and  were  totally 
unacquainted  with  every  sort  of  luxury*;  that  the 
gold  there  was  not  manufactured  into  coin  ;  and 
that  the  only  use  made  of  some  particles  of  that 


24 

metal,  which  the  inundations  of  the  rivers  conveyed, 
or  chance  presented  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
was  limited  to  some  trinkets,  without  any  other  arti- 
ficial preparation,  than  what  they  received  in  moulds 
coarsely  made  ;  when  he  observed,  in  short,  that  the 
means  of  accumulating  riches  were  not  so  easy  there 
as  he  had  imagined,  he  adopted  the  pernicious  plan 
of  penetrating  with  an  armed  force  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  in  order  to  commit  depredations 
on  the  inhabitants,  and  dispose  for  money  of  all  the 
prisoners  he  could  take. 

After  having  made  the  first  arrangements  for  the 
government  of  Coro  which  he  placed  in  the  hands  of 
his  lieutenant,  he  set  out  with  a  strong  detachment, 
boldly  advanced  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  cros- 
sed the  lake 'of  Maracaibo,  plundering,  butchering, 
ransacking  whatever  came  within  the  reach  of  his  fe- 
rocious hands.  Whenever  he  acquired  any  considera- 
ble portion  of  booty  he  sent  it  oft"  to  Coro.  There  the 
gold  was  deposited,  there  the  Indians  were  sold  to  mer- 
chants who  had  gone  there  to  fix  themselves,  in  order 
to  carry  on  that  trade.  The  loss  of  his  companions  was 
considerable.  He  must  undoubtedly  have  had  a 
heart  of  steel  to  be  capable  of  persevering  in  such 
atrocities.  He  demanded,  at  different  times,  re- 
inforcements, Mrhich  were  sent  to  him;  in  short 
after  having,  for  three  years  rendered  himself  notori- 
ous, as  the  terror,  the  tyrant  and  the  butcher  of  the 
Indians,  he  finished  his  career  by  becoming  their  vic- 
tim. He  was  slain  by  them,  in  1531,  at  the  distance 
ol'six  leagues  from  Pampcluna,  in  a  valley,  which 
has  retained  the  name  of  Miser  (Mr.)  Ambrosio. 


25 

John,  a  German,  being  appointed  by  brevet  on  the 
part  of  the  Welsers,  to  succeed  to  Alfinger  in  case  of 
death,  assumed  the  reins  of  government.  Yielding 
cither  to  his  dislike  of  cruelty,  to  the  taste  he  had  for 
an  inactive  life,  or,  finally,  to  the  want  of  per- 
sonal courage,  he  kept  close  at  Coro.  His  com- 
panions continued  to  act  upon  the  plan  of  Alfin- 
ger, which  was  dignified  with  the  name  of  conquest ; 
although,  in  correct  language,  it  might,  with  greater 
propriety,  be  called  a  plan  of  robbery.  In  1533* 
George  Spirra,  was  sent  by  the  Welsers,  with  the 
title  of  governor,  taking  with  him  400  men,  one 
half  of  them  from  Spain,  the  other  from  the  Canary 
islands.  This  force  had  no  sooner  arrived  at 
Coro,  than  they  concerted  means  how  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  assistance  of  those  already  upon  the 
spot,  so  as  to  answer  the  expectations  of  the  rapa- 
cious, and  the  avaricous.  It  was  determined  that 
they  should  be  divided  into  detached  parties,  with 
a  view  to  scour  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
then  to  cpnc^itrate  their  whole  force  at  a  certain 
stated  time  ;#Bd  place.  George  Spirra  took  with  him 
400  men.  Every  one,  as  he  thought  proper,  di- 
rected his  march  into  the  heart  of  forests  that  had 
never  been  penetrated  by  man.  They  were  like  so 
many  tygers,  breathing  nothing  but  devastation. — 
Their  exploits  consisted  in  exterminating  the  Indians 
who  fled,  making  slaves  of  those  who  surrendered, 
and  plundering  all  the  effects,  which  these  miserable 
inhabitants  possessed.  What  fatigues,  what  priva- 
tions, what  obstacles,  and  what  dangers  must  they 
have  undergone  !  This  expedition  continued  for  five 

Vot.  I.  H 


26 

years.  •  Geerge  Spirra  did  not  return  to  Coro,  till  the 
year  1539,  with  only  80  men  of  the  400  he  had  set 
out  with.  It  was  from  this  expedition  that  we  had 
the  first  account  of  the  existence,  whether  real,  or 
fabulous,  of  the  country  of  El  Dorado-.  George 
Spirra,  the  following  year,  set  off  for  St.  Domingo. 
He  died  on  his  return  to  Coro,  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1540. 

.  If  I  had  before  mentioned,  that  in  the  year  1532, 
there  was  established  at  Coro  a  bishop,  who  did  not  re- 
pair to  his  charge  till  the  year  1536,  it  would  excite  as- 
tonishment, that  a  prelate,  the  sanctity  of  whose 
ministry  enjoined  upon  him  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 
unfortunate,  should  have  remained  passive  and  si- 
lent, in  a  country  where  the  duties  of  humanity  were 
disregarded,  where  the  thirst  of  gold  had  made 
pillage  an  honourable  profession,  and  where  cupidity 
converted  man  into  an  article  of  merchandise,  the 
product  of  which  became  the  reward  of  the  crimes 
of  his  tyrant.  What  sensation,  then,  will  the  reader 
experience,  when  he  is  informed,  that,  in  the  year 
1540,  the  audience  of  St.  Domingo  invested  this 
same  prelate  with  the  civil  government  of  Vene- 
zuela, and  Philip  De  Urre-  with  the  military  depart- 
ment ;  and  that  things,  far  from  taking,  under  the 
authority  of  that  prelate,  a  turn  more  conformable  to 
the  principles  of  justice,  should  have  assumed  a  more 
shocking  aspect,  had  not  that  been  rendered  impossi- 
ble, by  their  being  already  carried  to  the  last  stage  of 
human  depravity. 

The  first  expedition,  which  was  made  by  the  or- 
ders  of  Bishop  Bastidas  was  directed  against  the  In- 


27 

dians  of  the  lake  of  Maracaibo.  One  Peter  Limpias 
was  charged  with  this  incursion,  and  the  fruit  of  it 
was  a  small  quantity  of  gold,  and  500  Indians,  who 
were  immediately  sold. 

That  same  bishop  sent  his  lieutenant,  Philip  de 
Urre,  with  130  men,  in  order  to  make  new  robberies, 
new  victims,  and  new  ravages.  This  expedition, 
which  was  accompanied  with  many  misfortunes,  with- 
out being  followed  by  any  advantages,  offers  with 
respect  to  the  country  El  Dorado,  some  information, 
which  a  regard  to  order  renders  it  necessary  to  post- 
pone for  the  present,  as  upon  a  future  occasion,  se- 
parate details  shall  be  given  upon  the  subject  of  that 
Utopian  country,  or,  if  not  such,  at  least,  it  is  yet 
inaccessible  to  the  enterprising  and  exploring  curi- 
osity of  man.  The  peregrination  of  Philip  de  Urre 
continued  for  four  years.  Reduced  to  the  last  degree 
of  wretchedness,  he  turned  his  face  again  towards  Co- 
ro.  But,  before  he  arrived  there,  he  was  assassinated 
by  Limpias,  one  of  his  officers,  and  Caravajal,the  lat- 
ter of  whom,  by  means  of  a  forged  commission,  hav- 
ing seized  the  government  of  the  province,  did  not 
think  himself  secure  in  his  usurpation,  without  getting 
rid  of  Philip  de  Urre,  who  had  been  appointed  lieute- 
nant-general, and  to  whom  the  government  re  verted  by 
right,  inconsequence  of  the  promotion  of  bishop  Alfin- 
gertothe  see  of  Porto  Rico.  It  was  the  usurper  Carava- 
jal,  that  founded  the  city  of  Tocuyo,  in  1545  ;  its  first 
population  was  59  Spaniards,  amongst  whom  were 
appointed  four  regidors  and  two  alcaides,  for  the  for- 
mation of  the  cabildo.  It  is  the  only  establishment 
niade  in  the  province  of  Venezuela,  whilst  it  had  the 


28 

misfortune  of  remaining  under  the  monopoly  and  ty, 
ranny  of  the  agents  of  the  Welsers. 

The  Welsers  are  dispossessed  of  Venezuela. 

At  length  the  period  arrived,  when  the  disasters  re- 
sulting from  the  grant  made  to  the  Germans  became 
known  to  the  emperor.  Convinced,  that,  under  such 
an  administration,  that  country  would  ever  present 
the  hideous  aspect  of  devastation,  he  determined 
to  resume  the  rights  of  his  sovereignty,  of  which  he 
ought  never  to  have  divested  himself.  The  treaty 
with  the  Welsers  was  rescinded,  the  Germans  were 
dispossessed,  and  the  emperor  appointed  as  governor 
the  licentiate  John  Peres  de  Tolosa,  who,  according 
to  Oviedo,  had  likewise  the  title  of  captain-general. 

Happy  effects  -which  result  from  it. 

This  new  reform  produced  a  great  one  in  the  system 
and  mode  of  conquest.  It  was  a  settled  point,  that 
instead  of  committing  devastation,  they  should  form 
settlements,  instead  of  plundering,  they  should  re- 
spect property.  The  laws  of  the  9th  November,  1526^ 
the  5th  November  1540,  the  20th  May  1542,  the  20th 
August  1550,  and  the  13th  January  1552,  wereputinto 
execution,  all  which  laws  declare  the  Indians  to  be 
free,  not  even  excepting  those  who  should  be  taken 
prisoners  in  the  act  of  carrying  arms. 

As  soon  as  an  Indian  nation  was  subjected  to  the 
Spaniards,  a  convenient  site  was  chosen  for  the  build- 
ing of  a  city,  the  better  to  secure  the  conquest.  One 
hundred  Spaniards  formed  the  population  of  the  new- 
city,  on  which  a  cabildo  was  conferred.  After  that 


29 

they  divided  the  lots  of  the  city  amongst  the  new  in» 
liabitants,  according  to  their  rank  and  merit ;  and  af- 
ter having  made  an  enumeration  of  the  Indians,  as 
exact  as  circumstances  admitted,  they  shared  them 
amongst  the  Spaniards,  who  thus  acquired  over  them 
a  right,  not  of  property,  but  of  superintendance.  This 
is  what  is  called  repartimientos  de  Indios* 

Encomiendas. 

This  measure,  which,  in  order  to  become  useful, 
required  only  more  fixed  regulations,  together  with 
a  system  better  adapted  to  the  great  object,  which 
it  was  destined  to  fulfil,  soon  received,  under  the 
name  of  encomiendas,  an  extension,  a  consistence, 
a  form  of  administration,  which  reflect  honor  upon  the 
legislator.  If  this  opinion  does  not  appear  ridiculous, 
it  cannot,  at  least,  but  appear  extraordinary  ;  for,  I 
am  persuaded,  it  is  the  first  that  flows  from  any  pen, 
except  that  of  a  Spaniard,  in  favor  of  the  encomiendas. 
It  does  not,  however,  follow  from  this,  that  I  deny 
their  being  chargeable  with  abuses  in  their  execution ; 
but  where  is  there  any  human  institution,  which  is 
not  liable  to  the  same  objection  ?  Our  present  object 
is  to  examine,  whether  the  law  is,  in  itself,  rational, 
just  and  useful. 

Their  object. 

The  effect  of  the  encomiendas  was  to  place  under 
the  immediate  superintendance,  under  the  authority 
even  of  a  Spaniard,  exemplary  for  his  morals,  the  In- 
dians who  lived  within  a  limited  extent  of  ground, 
corresponding  to  that  of  the  communes  in  France.  He 


30 

had  no  right  of  property  over  them  ;  whatever  right 
he  had,  regarded  only  their  actions.     It  was  his  duty, 

1.  To  protect  them  against  every  injustice,  against 
every  vexation,  to  which  their  ignorance  of  the  civil 
laws  exposed  them. 

2.  To  unite  them  in  one  village,  without  the  pow- 
er of  residing  there  himself. 

3.  To  cause  them  to  be  instructed  in  the  Christian 
religion. 

4.  To  organize  their  domestic  government  after 
the  model  of  the  social  institutions,  causing  the  head 
of  a  family  to  enjoy  the  respect  due  to  paternal  author- 
ity, an  authority  very  feeble,  not  to  say,  altogether 
unknown  amongst  the  greater  part  of  the  savage  In- 
dians. 

5.  To  cause  to  be  observed  by  families  the  rela- 
tions which  society  establishes  amongst  all  its  mem- 
bers. 

6.  To  direct  them  in  their  agricultural  and  domes- 
tic labours. 

7.  To  destroy  in  them  all  inclinations,  all  habits  of 
the  savage  life* 

In  return  for  these  attentions,  the  Indians  owed  to 
the  commissioned  superintendants  of  the  encomiendas, 
who  were  called  encomenderos,  a  yearly  tribute,  paid 
in  labour,  fruits,  or  money.  When  this  tribute  was 
once  paid,  the  Indian  was  exempted  from  every  other 
personal  service. 

Their  utility. 

This  establishment  was,  therefore,  as  may  be  ob- 
served, a  kind  of  apprenticeship  to  the  civil  life,  for. 


31 

at  the  same  time  that  philosophy  and  humanity  were 
contending  for  the  liberty  of  the  Indians,  reason  andpo. 
licy  required  that  some  precautions  should  be  taken 
equally  suitable  to  their  total  want  of  knowledge,  and  to 
the  rudeness  of  their  manners.  Their  sudden  admission 
to  the  exercise  of  civil  rights  could  not  but  be  hurtful 
to  themselves,  and  fatal  to  the  society  of  which  they 
too  hastily  became  members :  for,  as  is  observed  by 
an  ancient  magistrate,  a  love  of  social  life  is  happily  a 
natural  sentiment  in  man,  but  it  ought  to  be  fortified  by 
habit  and  cultivated  by  reason.  Nature,  by  endowing 
man  with  sensibility,  has  inspired  him  with  the  love 
of  pleasure  and  the  dread  of  pain.  Society  is  the 
work  of  nature,  since  it  is  nature  that  places  man  in, 
society ;  but  the  love  of  society  is  a  secondary  senti- 
ment which  flows  from  reason  only,  and  reason 
itself  is  but  the  knowledge  acquired  by  experience 
and  reflection  upon  what  is  useful  or  hurtful  to  us. 
Man  lives  in  society,  because  nature  gives  him  birth 
in  it.  He  loves  that  society,  because  he  finds  he  has 
need  of  it.  Thus,  when  we  say,  that  sociability  is  a 
sentiment  natural  to  man,  we  thereby  declare  that 
man  having  a  desire  of  providing  for  his  own  safety, 
and  contributing  to  his  own  happiness,  cherishes  the 
means  which  promote  those  views ;  that  being  born 
with  the  faculty  of  sensation,  he  prefers  the  good  to 
the  bad ;  that  being  susceptible  of  experience  and  re- 
flection, he  becomes  reasonable,  that  is  to  say,  capa- 
ble of  comparing  the  advantages,  which  the  social 
life  procures  him,  with  the  disadvantages  which  he 
would  experience,  if  he  were  deprived  of  it.  In 
one  word,  man  is  social,  because  these  sentiments, 


natural  to  all  men,  are  developed  and  fortified  by 
the  education  received  in  the  social  state,  but  are 
stifled  and  annihilated  by  the  individual  independ- 
ence attached  to  the  savage  life.  They  must  then 
have  been  entirely  extinguished  amongst  the  In- 
dians of  Terra  Firma,  who  enjoyed  neither  gov- 
ernment, nor  laws,  nor  arts,  nor  police,  and  it  was 
only  by  reasoning,  and  the  powerful  influence  of 
example  that  they  could  be  inspired  with  a 
taste  for  them.  It  is  in  this  point  of  vievv,  that 
the  probationary  course  which  the  Indians  went 
through  under  the  encomiendas,  may  be  consid- 
ered as  a  laudable  institution.  It  is  even  observable 
that  the  government  was  constantly  attentive  to  con- 
duct them  to  that  degree  of  perfection,  which  forms 
the  limits  of  human  foresight  and  power. 

Principles  by  which  they  -were  governed. 

On  the  13th  of  May  1538,  it  was  ordained,  that 
the  encomiendas  should  be  exclusively  granted  to  in- 
habitants residing  in  the  very  places  where  they  were 
to  exercise  their  functions ;  but  cupidity,  which  is 
always  accompanied  with  intrigue,  soon  made  it  the 
boon  of  favour.  A  law  of  the  20th  of  October,  1545, 
opened  the  door  to  solicitations,  by  permitting  that 
the  Indians  should  be  indiscriminately  entrusted  to 
persons  of  merit.  Then  were  courtiers  observed  to 
receive  encomiendas,  and  thus  the  end  of  their 
institution  was  defeated.  That  abuse,  and  it  was 
a  great  one,  was  corrected  by  an  ordinance  of  the 
28th  of  November  1568,  and  by  the  instruction  of 


33 

the  viceroys  in  1595,  which  may  be  seen  in  chap.  xvii. 
It  was  no  longer  permitted  to  give  encomiendas, 
except  to  those  who  had  contributed  to  the  conquest, 
pacification  and  population  of  the  Indies,  and  to  their 
tlescendents  Viceroys,  governors,  military  chiefs, 
bishops,  priests,  and  fiscal  officers,  hospitals,  con- 
vents, and  religious  fraternities,  were  deprived  of 
the  right  of  holding  encomiendas  by  the  ordinance  of 
1565.  That  disposition  extended,  in  1591,  to  fo- 
reigners, although  in  the  service  of  the  king. 

The  right  of  the  encomendero  was  fixed,  unaliena- 
ble,  and,  as  it  were,  attached  to  the  personal  quali- 
ties of  the  incumbent  by  different  laws,  the  execu- 
tion of  which  was  confirmed  by  that  of  the  13th  of 
April  1628.  The  encomenderos  could  neither  hire, 
nor  pledge  the  Indians  committed  to  their  charge, 
under  penalty  of  privation  of  office.  The  product 
of  the  tribute  paid  by  the  Indians  could  not  amount 
in  favour  of  the  encomendero  to  more  than  two  thou- 
sand piasters.  The  surplus  was  disposed  of  in  pen- 
sions, according  to  the  order  of  the  king  of  the  30th 
of  November,  1568.  Finally,  according  to  the  re- 
gulation for  promoting  the  population  of  the  Indians, 
the  encomiendas  were  granted  for  two  lives,  that  is  to 
say,  to  descend  from  father  to  son,  after  which,  they 
were  to  revert  to  the  crown,  and  the  Indians  to  be- 
come direct  vassals  of  the  king,  and  members  of  the 
great  society.  Personal  considerations  had  caused 
an  extension  to  be  given  to  this  disposition,  which 
was  abrogated  by  an  ordinance  of  the  14th  of  Octo«- 
ber,  1580. 

VOL.  I.  i 


34 
Their  extinction. 

This  order  of  things  subsisted,  as  long  as  conquest 
was  effected  by  force  of  arms,  because,  then,  af- 
ter having  reduced,  they  sought  to  civilize  the  In- 
dians. But  when  they  adopted  the  resolution  of 
employing,  for  their  reduction,  Christian  morality 
alone  ;  \vhen  the  Spanish  sovereignty  called  religioa 
to  assist ;  when  apostolic  missions  supplied  the  place 
of  military  expeditions,  and  ministers  of  the  church 
alone  were  charged  with  the  civil  and  religious  in- 
struction of  the  Indians,  the  encomiendas  had  no  lon- 
ger any  object,  and  consequently  became  useless. 
It  is  since  that  period,  which  extends  to  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  that  they  ceased  to  be 
granted  in  the  captain-generalship  ofCaraccas;  and  it 
is  before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth,  that  those 
which  existed  became  extinct.  Is  the  object  of  them 
better  fulfilled  ?  That  is  a  question,  which  shall  be 
examined  in  its  proper  place. 

Causes  •which  occasioned  force  to  be  employed  at  Ve- 
nezuela and  conciliatory  measures  to  be  abandoned. 

The  part  of  Terra-Firma,  and  perhaps  of  all  Ame- 
rica, which  owes  least  to  the  zeal  of  the  missionaries 
is  the  province  of  Venezuela.  Whatever  conquest 
has  been  made  there  during  the  first  century  of  its 
discovery,  has  been  effected  by  the  force  of  arms. 
Persuasion  and  morality,  if  they  had  been  constant- 
ly employed,  would  have  spared  much  blood  ;  the 
wise,  but  too  short  administration  of  Ampues,  is  an 
incontestible  proof  of  this  truth.  But  the  irruption 


35 

of  the  agents  of  the  Welsers,  their  devastations,  their 
acts  of  cruelty,  and  their  perjuries,  fixed  among  the 
Indians  a  settled  horror  of  the  Spanish  name,  which v 
impelled  them  to  reject  every  pacific  measure,  and  a 
terror,  which  rendered  them  capable  of  every  effort 
of  despair.  The  experience  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
years  had  persuaded  them,  that  the  Europeans  had 
no  other  intention,  than  that  of  exterminating  the  In- 
dians, nor  any  other  means  of  quenching  their  thirst 
of  gold,  than  plunder.  With  such  dispositions,  un- 
fortunately too  much  justified  by  all  that  they  were 
obliged  to  experience,  the  voice  of  morality  would 
have  been  idly  addressed  to  them,  nor  could  treaties 
be  formed  with  them  with  any  prospect  of  stability. 
There  were  but  two  alternatives  left,  either  entirely 
to  renounce  the  country,  or  to  subdue  it  by  force  of 
arms.  As  the  former  resolution  was  not  compatible 
with  the  sentiments  that  prevailed  in  those  days,  the 
latter  was  adopted,  to  the  great  effusion  of  Spanish 
and  Indian  blood.  All  the  caciques  defended  their 
territories  with  a  persevering  firmness  and  resolution, 
of  which  they  were  hitherto  deemed  incapable.  Ne- 
ver were  the  Spaniards  permitted  to  make  the  smallest 
settlement,  without  a  severe  conflict  with  the  nation 
who  occupied  the  ground. 

Foundation  of  the  first  cities — Barqulsimeto. 

The  city  of  Barquisimeto  was  not  founded  by  Vil- 
legas,  in  1552,  till  after  he  had  conquered  the  soil 
from  the  Indians  who  inhabited  it.  Even  after  be- 
ing founded,  it  had  to  withstand  several  attacks  from 
the  Geraharas  Indians,  who,  not  being  able  to  dis- 


36 

lodge  the  Spaniards,  succeeded,  at  least,  in  com- 
pelling them  to  abandon  some  mines  recently  disco- 
vered in  the  environs  of  St.  Philip-de-Buria,  whose 
name  they  bore. 

Palmes  the  same  as  Nifgua. 

A  city,  named  Palmes,  which  Capt.  Diego  Mon- 
tesqui  built  in  1554,  for  the  protection  of  these  mines, 
was  no  sooner  built  by  the  Spaniards,  than  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Indians.  There  exists  not  now  a  trace 
of  it.  That  same  year,  namely  1554,  Diego  de  Pa- 
radas,  being  ordered  to  rebuild  that  city,  thought  it 
adviseable,  before  he  entered  upon  the  execution  of 
his  task,  to  scour  with  his  troops  the  surrounding 
country  ;  having  routed  the  Indians,  he  inflicted 
such  punishments  upon  them,  as  did  not  much 
redound  to  the  praise  of  his  humanity.  Believing 
that  possession,  would  be  no  more  disputed  with 
him,  he  built  a  city,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Nirgua;  but  scarce  had  he  retired,  when  the 
Indians,  profiting  by  the  advantages  which  the  in- 
undations presented,  cut  off  the  communications,  and 
compelled  the  Spaniards  to  evacuate  it.  They  built 
it  again,  but  in  another  situation,  which  they  judged 
more  convenient  for  its  defence ;  but  that  did  not 
prevent  it  from  experiencing  the  same  fate.  They 
took  new  precautions,  by  means  of  which,  the  city, 
being  once  more  raised  from  its  ruins,  was  able  to 
make  a  stand,  although  with  difficulty  ;  for  its  per- 
fect security  is  only  to  be  dated  from  1628,  the  epoch 
of  the  extermination  of  all  the  Geraharas  Indians, 


37 
Valencia. 

Alonso  Dias  Moreno,  founder  of  Valencia,  had 
many  obstacles  to  surmount,  many  victories  to  gain, 
in  order  to  get  possession  of  the  site,  which  was  as- 
signed to  it  in  1556.  Lake  Tacarigua,  which  has 
given  up  its  own  name,  to  assume  that  of  the 
city,  was  surrounded  by  a  numerous  body  of  In- 
dians, whom  the  abundance  offish  and  game  had 
fixed  in  that  quarter.  It  was  necessary  to  vanquish 
them  in  order  to  obtain  by  terror,  a  peace,  which  had 
in  vain  been  asked  from  them  upon  amicable 
terms. 

Truxilh. 

The  fertility  of  the  environs  of  Truxillo  was  dis- 
covered in  1549  by  Diego  Ruis  Vallejo,  and  suggest- 
ed to  the  Spaniards  the  design  of  forming  a  settle- 
ment there.  To  do  this  they  were  obliged  to  make 
war  against  the  Indian  nations,  who  occupied  the 
space  contained  between  the  mountains  of  Merida, 
and  the  spot  where  Carora  now  stands ;  which  tract 
was  at  that  time  called  the  province  of  the  Cuicas  ; 
and  it  was  not  till  1556,  that  Diego  Garcia  de  Pa- 
redes,  after  many  conflicts,  could,  with  any  appear- 
ance of  safety,  lay  the  foundation  of  the  new  city, 
which  its  founders  were  compelled  to  abandon  on  ac- 
count of  a  treacherous  insurrection  of  the  Indians.  The 
country  was  afterwards  reconquered,  and  in  1570, 
this  city  was  permanently  placed  where  it  now  stands, 
and  secured  against  all  new  attacks, 

en 


No  ground  was  so  obstinately  disputed  by  the 
Indians,  as  the  valley  where  the  city  of  Caraccas  is 
situated.  Of  all  the  province  of  Venezuela  this  part 
was  the  most  populous,  and  its  inhabitants  the  most 
distinguished  for  their  address,  resolution,  and  love  of 
independence.  In  a  circumference  often  or  twelve 
leagues,  were  computed  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand Indians,  under  the  controul  of  upwards  of  thirty 
caciques.  This  country,  by  its  fertility  and  popula- 
tion, enjoyed  a  reputation  which  had  long  excited 
in  the  Spaniards  a  desire  of  possessing  it. 

The  first  who  attempted  it  was  Francis  Faxardo, 
born  in  the  island  of  Margaretta,  the  son  of  an  illustri- 
ous Spaniard,  and  Donna  Isabella,  cacique  of  the  Gay- 
queri  nation,  and  grand-daughter  of  a  cacique  na- 
med Charaymainthe  territory  of  the  Caraccas  Indians. 
Faxardo  spoke  all  the  languages  of  the  Indians  who 
inhabited  the  country  which  he  coveted.  He  depend- 
ed much  on  this  acquirement  for  conciliating  their 
friendship,  and  obtaining  by  persuasion  what  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  obtain  by  force.  His  object  was 
to  make  the  Spanish  sovereignty  recognised  there. — 
Success  appeared  easy  to  him,  and  in  his  success  he 
viewed  his  own  elevation,  his  glory,  and  his  fortune. 
He  took  with  him  three  Creoles  of  Margaretta, 
twenty  vassals  of  his  mother,  and  some  small  articles 
for  exchange.  He  disembarked  at  the  river  Chius- 
pa,  fourteen  leagues  to  windward  of  Goayre.  His  af- 
fability, his  knowledge  of  the  Indian  languages,  and 
his  maternal  origin  gained  him  a  ready  access  to  the 


39 

friendship  of  all  the  caciques,  who  received  him  with 
the  most  affectionate  demonstrations  of  attachment. 
He  employed  some  to  examine  the  country  and  to 
study  the  genius  of  the  inhabitants.  After  that  he 
again  passed  over  to  Margaretta,  to  the  great  regret 
of  the  Indians,  who  had  already  made  him  their  ora- 
cle. 

Upon  the  account  which  Faxardo  rendered  to  his 
mother  of  the  dispositions  of  the  Indians  of  the  val- 
ley of  Maya  or  Caraccas,  she  encouraged  him  to  pur- 
sue his  project,  and  determined  to  accompany  him. 
Accordingly  they  both  repaired  there,  with  a  hun- 
dred Indians  attached  to  the  service  of  his  mother. — 
Eleven  Spaniards  only  consented  to  join  the  expedi- 
tion. They  disembarked  at  the  same  place,  where 
Faxardo  had  landed  on  his  first  voyage.  At 
their  arrival  the  joy  was  universal.  Between  them 
and  the  Indians,  such  an  intimate  friendship  was 
contracted,  as  immediately  assumed  all  the  charac- 
ters of  the  greatest  frankness  and  stability ;  it  ap- 
peared unalterable.  To  the  mother  of  Faxardo  they 
offered  a  present,  which  she  accepted,  of  all  the  val- 
ley which  is  called  Panecillo,  where  she  enjoyed  a 
consideration  similar  to  that  which  is  manifested 
to  a  sovereign. 

Faxardo,  wishing  to  profit  by  these  favourable  cir- 
cumstances, requested  of  Gutierres,  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernor, permission  to  build  a  city,  which  was  readily 
granted  him.  On  the  first  overtures  which  Faxardo 
made  to  the  Indians  he  incurred  their  suspicion. 
Suspicion  was  soon  followed  by  misunderstanding. 
From  words  they  proceeded  to  actions.  The  Indians 


40 

had  recourse  to  anus,  and  poisoned  the  waters.  The 
mother  of  Faxardo  died  during  these  disturbances, 
which  became  so  serious  that  Faxardo  thought  him- 
self very  happy,  after  having  lost  all  his  men,  to  be 
able  to  make  his  escape  to  Margaretta. 

Neither  past  nor  future  dangers  could  divert  him 
from  his  projects.  He  prepared  himself  for  a  third 
attempt.  His  new  expedition  was  again  composed 
of  twelve  associates,  not  of  his  fortune,  but  of  his  te- 
merity. He  disembarked  in  the  territory  of  the  only 
cacique  who  remained  attached  to  his  cause,  and 
traversed  the  country,  as  far  as  Valencia,  in  order  to 
acquire  such  accurate  knowledge  of  it  as  would  ena- 
ble him  to  give  the  governor  of  the  province  inform- 
ation sufficiently  satisfactory,  to  determine  him  to 
grant  the  commission  and  forces  necessary  to  accom- 
plish its  conquest.  But  he  was  stopped  in  his  career 
by  a  considerable  body  of  Indians,  who  had  resolved  to 
makea  spirited  opposition  to  his  design.  His  death  had 
been  inevitable,  if  the  natural  sweetness  of  his  dispo- 
sition, and  the  command  he  had  of  the  Indian  lan- 
guages, had  not  disarmed  the  hand  that  was  ready 
to  strike  him,  and  changed  the  fury  of  the  savages 
into  benevolence. 

He  arrived,  therefore,  at  Valencia,  from  which  he 
dispatched  to  governor  Collado  projects  accompani- 
ed with  very  minute  details  with  respect  to  the  possi- 
bility of  the  conquest  which  he  meditated.  He  ob- 
tained from  him  the  grade  of  lieutenant  general,  with 
thirty  men,  and  some  horned  cattle.  With  so  feeble  a 
support,  unable  to  march  as  a  conqueror,  he  conde- 
scended to  visit  the  habitations  of  the  Indians,  on  the 


41 

footing  of  a  negotiator    and  friend.     He  humbly 
begged  alliances,  and  obtained  them  without  much 
difficulty.     The  Arbacos,  Teques,  Taramaquas,  and 
Chaganacotos,  formed  an  union   with  him,  which 
was  confirmed  by  treaties.     Thus  he  opened  for  him- 
self :he  passage  of  the  vallies  of  Aragoa,  the  mountain 
of  SL  Peter,  and  the  valley  of  Caraccas.     As  he  had 
neither  sufficient  force  to  maintain  his  ground  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  nor  sufficient  confidence  in 
the  Indians  to  risk  himself  amongst  them,  he  retired 
to  the  border  of  the  sea,  and,  in  1560,  built,  at  the 
port  of  Caravalleda,  a  city,  which  he  called  after  the 
name  of  governor  Collado,  a  name  which  it  renoun- 
ced on  his  death,  in  order  to  assume  that  of  Caraval- 
leda.    This  discovery,  which  enhanced  his  merit, 
and  ought  to  have  augmented  his  credit,  was,  on  the 
contrary,  the  cause  of  his  ruin.     Some  time  after, 
on  being  informed  that  there  existed  mines  in  the  val- 
ley of  St.  Francis,  he  repaired  to  that  place,  with  an 
escort  sufficient  to  repulse  the  attack  which  he  had 
reason  to  apprehend.     He  actually  found  there  a  gold 
mine  of  the  most  promising  appearance,  and  imme- 
diately forwarded  a  sample  of  it  to  Collado.     The  in- 
habitants of  Tocuyo  became  so  excessively  jealous 
of  him,  and  the  governor  so  far  partook  of  the  same 
sentiment,  that  he  deprived  him  of  his  commission, 
and  ordered  him  to  retire  in  disgrace  to  Caravalleda, 
by  that  proceeding,  affording  equal  gratification  to  the 
envy  of  others,  and  to  that  share  of  it  which  lurked  in 
his  own  bosom. 

Peter  Miranda   supplied  the  place   of  Faxardo. 

Collado  himself  went  to  take  a  view  of  the  mine, 
VOL.  I.  K 


42 

which  he  found  even  to  exceed  the  report  of  Faxar- 
do  ;  but  a  general  insurrection  of  the  Indians  entirely 
disconcerted  his  chimerical  hopes,  and  compelled  all 
those  who  had  flocked  to  see  these  new  treasures  to 
make  a  precipitate  retreat.  Fresh  troops  \vtre  dis- 
patched, in  order  to  recover  those  mines,  and  they 
actually  accomplished  that  object ;  but  it  was  only  to 
be  exposed  to  new  schemes  of  treachery,  and  again 
to  abandon  the  position  they  had  taken. 

By  means  of  a  reinforcement,  the  Spaniards  suc- 
ceeded in  building  a  small  village,  that  is,  a  group  of 
huts  adjoining  one  another,  and  gave  it  the  name  of 
St.  Francis.  This  paltry  establishment  would  be  far 
from  meriting  the  honor  of  being  mentioned,  if  it  did 
not  appear  interesting  from  its  having  been  fixed  on 
the  very  spot  where  the  city  of  Caraccas  now  stands. 

In  the  mean  time,  there  arrived  at  Barburata  a  cer- 
tain adventurer  of  the  name  of  Aguirre,  with  three 
hundred  men,  whose  march  was  even*  where  mark- 
ed with  crimes.  The  Spaniards  are  pleased  to  give 
the  too  imposing  appellation  of  tyrant  to  the  leader  of 
this  banditti,  when  he  only  merits  that  of  robber ;  for 
the  tyrant  is  actuated  by  the  ambition  of  power  join- 
ed to  the  dread  of  losing  it.  Aguirre  and  his  follow- 
ers robbed,  and  shed  blood  merely  to  indulge  a  crimi- 
nal habit.  Having  departed  from  Peru,  in  order  to 
make  discoveries  under  a  chief,  whom  they  assassina- 
ted, they  sailed  down  the  Amazon,  touched  at  Mar- 
garetta  w.here  they  committed  very  atrocious  acts. 
From  Barburata,  they  went  to  Valencia,  destroying 
one  another,  when  they  could  not  find  victims  enough 
to  feed  the.ir  ferocity.  At  length,  Aguirre,  after 


43 

having  inflicted  death  upon  so  many  innocent  persons, 
became  himself  its  victim  at  Barquisimeto.  *  This 
story,  which  is  not  otherwise  connected  with  my  sub- 
ject, than  as  it  occasioned  the  suspension  of  the  con- 
quest of  Caraccas,  is  amply  detailed  in  a  work  entitled, 
Conquest  of  the  province  of  Venezuela  by  Oviedo  y 
Bannos. 

The  troops,  which  were  stationed  at  St.  Francis, 
by  marching  against  the  pretended  tyrant,  left  Faxar- 
do  at  Caravalleda,  in  so  weak  a  state,  and  so  much 
exposed  to  the  attacks  and  treacherous  machinations 
of  the  Indians,  that,  after  having  made  incredible  ef- 
forts to  maintain  his  position,  he  was  obliged  to  evac- 
uate Terra«Firma  and  retire  to  Margaretta,  where  he 
formed  a  fourth  expedition,  with  which  he  disem- 
barked near  Cumana.  But  Alonso  Cobos,  the  mon- 
ster, who  governed  there,  jealous  of  the  glory  which 
this  bold,  indefatigable,  but  unfortunate  man  was 
upon  the  point  of  acquiring,  with  the  most  abomina- 
ble treachery,  decoyed  him  to  Cumana  and  there 
strangled  him. 

Governor  Bernaldes  seriously  resumed,  in  1565, 
the  project  of  the  conquest  of  Caraccas.  He  gave 
the  command  of  the  expedition  to  Gutierres  de  la 
Penna,  and  was  himself  disposed  to  take  a  part  in  it. 
But,  when  arrived  at  some  distance  from  the  soil, 
which  he  wished  to  occupy,  they  found  the  savan- 
nas and  the  mountains  covered  with  Arbacos,  Mer- 
golos,  and  Quiriquiros  Indians.  In  this  situation, 
not  seeing  any  possibility  of  effecting  a  passage,  he 
thought  it  prudent  to  retire.  The  successful  execu- 

*  And  not  in  the  Island  of  Trinidad,  as  M.  De.  La  Condamine  says,  in 
the  account  of  his  voyage  to  South  America. 


44 

tion  of  tliis  enterprise  was  reserved  for  Don  Pedro  de 
Leon,  who  arrived  from  Spain  in  quality  of  governor, 
with  an  express  reeommendation  from  the  king  to 
neglect  no  means  of  accomplishing  the  conquest  of 
Caraccas.  Agreeably  to  this  instruction,  in  1667,  an 
expedition  was  formed,  the  command  of  which  was 
conferred  upon  Don  Diego  Losada.  This  army, 
composed  of  ISOfighting  men,  besides  80  scouts,  made 
a  descent  by  the  vallies  of  Aragoa.  Its  operations 
were  successful,  as  far  as  the  bottom  of  mount  Tere- 
payma,  which  is  even  to  this  day  called  the  Cocuisas, 
after  the  name  of  the  Indian  inhabitants.  Here  ap- 
peared a  formidable  army,  which  instantly  commen- 
ced a  vigorous  attack,  and  kept  the  victory  a  long 
time  in  suspense.  The  Indians,  however,  lost  such 
a  multitude  of  men,  that  the  field  of  battle  remained 
in  possession  of  the  Spaniards.  Having  advanced 
four  leagues  farther,  the  army  encountered  in  the 
defiles  of  the  mountain  a  considerable  body  of  Indians, 
who  showed  much  greater  courage,  and  made 
more  judicious  dispositions,  than  had  been  manifest- 
ed in  the  former  action.  In  order  to  make  a  still 
more  dreadful  impression,  the  Indians  had  set  fire 
to  the  forests  of  the  mountain,  intending  to  involve 
the  enemy  in  conflagration  and  smoke.  All  the  pre- 
sence of  mind  of  Losada,  and  all  the  valor  of  his  sol- 
diers were  necessary  to  extricate  themselves  from 
this  critical  situation.  Every  danger,  however,  was 
braved  and  surmounted  by  the  sacrifice  of  some  lives  ; 
but  it  was  only  to  fall  into  another  not  less  terrible. 

The  cacique  Guaycaipuro,  distinguished  for  his 
spirited  defence  of  his  country,  h ad  posted  himself 


45 

at  the  river  de  San  Pedro,  with  ten  thousand  Indians. 
The  battle  commenced  immediately  upon  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Spaniards.  The  contest  was  long, 
obstinate  and  bloody.  Some  Spaniards  fell  in  it; 
but  victory  declared  in  their  favor.  They  continued 
their  march  and  arrived  at  the  Aguntas  from  which 
place  a  plain  three  leagues  long  extends  to  Carac- 
cas.  The  cacique  of  this  place  had  declined  taking 
part  against  the  Spaniards,  unwilling  to  expose  to 
devastation  the  great  plantations  which  he  had  in  his 
domains.  Losada,  therefore,  was  enabled  to  give  to 
his  army  some  moments  of  repose,  of  which  they  had 
great  need.  At  the  same  time,  he  knew  that  fresh 
armies  of  Indians,  were  waiting  for  him  in  the  defiles, 
through  which  he  was  obliged  to  pass  in  order  to  ar- 
rive at  the  valley  of  St.  Francis  or  the  Caraccas.  It 
was  upon  that  account  he  resolved  to  prefer  the 
way  on  his  right,  which  leads  across  the  mountain  to 
a  valley,  not  farther  distant  than  half  a  league  from 
the  Caraccas,  to  which  he  gave  the  name,  which  it 
still  retains  of  Valle  de  la  Pascna,  valley  of  Easter, 
because  he  arrived  there  in  the  holy-week,  where 
he  remained  without  uneasiness,  till  after  the  Easter 
holy-days. 

The  scheme  of  Losada,  was  to  make  every  ef- 
fort to  conciliate  the  friendship  of  the  Indians,  by 
negotiation  and  good  treatment  to  soothe  them  into 
a  submission  to  Spanish  dominion,  to  induce  them 
to  prefer  the  social  laws,  which  protect  every  indivi- 
dual, to  the  state  of  nature,  where  every  one  is  ex- 
posed to  the  insults  and  exaction  of  the  strongest. 
Therefore,  in  the  beginning,  he  made  use  of  arms 


46 

solely  for  defence.  All  the  Indians,  who  were  taken, 
were  well  treated,  caressed,  instructed,  and  released. 
They  amused  the  Spaniards  by  the  most  flattering 
promises,  and  consented  to  take  whatever  oaths  were 
required  of  them  with  so  much  the  more  compla- 
cency, as  they  attached  no  importance  to  them, 
and  thus  they  departed  seemingly  well  pleased  ;  but 
that  liberty  which  they  owed  to  the  generosity  of  their 
conquerors,  they  never  employed,  but  in  contriving 
new  snares  for  the  Spaniards,  and  in  forming  new 
coalitions  in  order  to  fight  them.  As  soon  as  Losada 
became  impressed  with  the  afflicting  certainty,  that 
lenient  measures  served  only  to  give  the  Indians  a 
false  idea  of  his  weakness,  he  seriously  determined 
to  resort  to  the  plan  of  military  coercion.  He 
left  in  the  valley  of  St.  Francis,  Maldonado  with  80 
men,  whilst  with  the  rest  of  his  army  he  scoured  the 
country  for  ten  leagues  to  the  eastward,  where  he 
found  many  ambushes,  many  posts,  many  Indians 
disposed  to  dispute  his  passage  ;  but  it  was  in  vain 
they  attempted  to  resist  him ;  every  thing  yielded  to 
his  discipline  and  valour.  He  continued  to  conquer 
with  every  possible  success,  when  he  learned  that 
Maldonado  was  besieged  by  more  than  two  thousand 
Indians.  This  intelligence  obliged  him  to  retrace 
his  steps,  in  order  to  fly  to  the  assistance  of  the 
camp  of  St.  Francis.  On  his  approach  the  siege  was 
actually  raised,  and  the  Indians  for  safety  betook 
themselves  to  flight. 

The  intention  of  Losada  had,  at  first,  been  to 
found  no  city,  till  the  conquest  of  the  country  was 
happily  atchieved,  and  tranquillity  well  secured. 


47 

But  circumstances  made  him  change  his  opinion. 
He  laid,  therefore,  the  foundation  of  the  city  of 
Caraccas,  to^which  he  gave  the  name  of  Santiago  de 
Leon  de  Caraccas,  which  is  but  a  combination  of  his 
own  name,  that  of  governor  Ponce  de  Leon,  toge- 
ther with  that  of  the  Indian  nation,  who  occupied 
the  ground  upon  which  it  was  built.  The  precise  date 
of  its  foundation  is  unknown.  History  has  only 
been  able  to  ascertain  the  year,  but  it  was  towards 
the  end  of  1567. 

The  Spaniards  passed  upwards  of  ten  years 
making  war  upon  the  Indians  in  the  environs  of 
Caraccas.  They  made  continual  sallies,  andnot  always 
with  success.  During  that  interval,  they,  several 
times,  saw  themselves  upon  the  point  of  being  com- 
pelled to  evacuate  the  country.  To  support  all  the 
fatigues,  all  the  privations,  which  they  experienced, 
and  to  come  off  victorious  from  the  battles,  which 
they  were  daily  in  the  habit  of  giving  and  receiving, 
required  all  the  perseverance,  patience,  and  self-deni- 
al that  are  reckoned  amongst  the  characteristic  vir- 
tues of  the  Spaniards,  as  well  as  the  intrepidity  peculiar 
to  those  who  are  the  subjects  of  the  present  narration. 

Maracaibo. 

Whilst  Losada  was  completing  the  conquest  of 
Caraccas,  Captain  Alonso  Pacheco,  an  inhabitant 
of  Truxillo,  fought  in  the  western  part  of  the  coun- 
try, the  Sapants,  Quiriquiros,  Atilas  and  Toas 
Indians,  who  opposed  his  march  to  Maracaibo. 
This  conquest  was  neither  short  nor  easy  ;  it  was  the 


48 

work  of  time  and  courage.  After  he  had  reduced 
them  to  submission,  he  built,  in  1571,  a  city  upon  the 
border  of  the  lake  of  Maracaibo,  under  the  name  of 
New-Zamora,  which  it  has  not  retained,  for  it  is 
now  known  only  by  that  of  Maracaibo. 

Carora. 

In  1572,  John  de  Salamanca,  with  seventy  men, 
marched  to  fight  the  Indians  of  Bararigua,  and  found- 
ed on  the  9th  of  June,  of  the  same  year,  the  city  of 
Carora. 

St.  Sebastian  de  los  Reyes. 

The  city  of  St.  Sebastian  de  los  Reyes  was  found- 
ed in  1585,  by  Don  Sebastian  Dias.  The  Indians 
attacked  it  several  times,  and  with  greater  hopes  of 
success,  on  account  of  the  very  small  number  of  its  in- 
habitants at  that  time  ;  but  their  valour  made  up  for 
the  deficiency  of  their  number. 

We  may  see,  by  the  manner  in  which  these  cities 
have  been  founded,  that  they  owed  their  existence 
to  force  alone ;  their  preservation  to  the  cou- 
rage of  their  first  inhabitants.  Perhaps,  it  was 
expected  that  we  should  here  present  a  circumstan- 
tial account  of  those  conquests  which  have  embraced 
all  the  province  of  Venezuela,  which,  with  consider- 
able exceptions,  are  by  no  means  uninteresting ;  but, 
besides  that  such  a  task  would  exceed  the  limits 
I  have  already  prescribed  to  myself,  the  per- 
spicuity, method  and  accuracy,  with  which  Oviedo, 
a  Creole  of  Caraccas,  has  handled  that  subject,  would 


49 

have  deterred  me  from  an  undertaking  in  which  I 
could  not  but  appear  inferior.  My  duty,  I  conceive, 
is  sufficiently  discharged  by  publicly  referring  to  the 
work,  and  paying  to  the  author  that  tribute  of  praise, ' 
which  is  certainly  due  to  him.  He  has,  in  a  master- 
ly manner,  described  the  means  which  have  been 
employed  to  bring  that  country  under  the  authority 
of  the  Spaniards ;  I  have,  therefore,  only  to  point 
out  those  which  are  employed  to  keep  them  in 
it.  He  has  given  a  faithful  representation  of  the 
ancient  state  of  that  country ;  it  is  my  part  to  render 
an  account  of  >  what  is  its  present  state,  and  thence 
form  conjectures  of  what  will  be  its  future  state. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Chorography  of  the  eastern  part  of  Terra  Firma — Division  of  the  captain 
generalship  of  Caraccas — Temperature — Mountains — Mines — Pearl- 
Fishery — Salt  —  Mineral  Springs  —  Seasons  —  Rains  —  Earthquakes — 
Timber  for  building,  carpenter-work,  cabinet-work,  for  particu- 
lar uses,  for  dyeing — Plants — Gums — Medicinal  rosins  and  oils — 
Lakes — Lake  Maracaibo,  Lake  of  Valencia — Rivers — Guigues, 
Tocuyo,  Aroa,  Yarocuy,  Tuv,  Nevcri,  Manzanares,  Cariaco,  Gua- 
arapiche — Sea — Tides — Worms  or  Tarets — Surge — Ports — Portete 
and  Bayahonda,  Maraicaibo,  Coro,  Porto-Cabello — Turiamo  Pata- 
nemo — Barburata  and  Sienega—  Ocumara — La  Goayra — Caravaleda 
— Port-Francis — Higuerote — Bay  or  Lake  Tacarigua — Barcelona — 
Cumana — Gulf  of  Cariaco — Point  of  Araya — Channel  of  Marga- 
retta— Port  of  Cariaco — Gulf  of  Paria. 


Division  of  the  captain-generalship  of  Caraccas. 

JL  HE  country  which  I  have  undertaken  to  describe 
is  the  same  as  that  which  forms  the  captain-general- 
ship of  Caraccas.  It  comprehends  the  province  of 
Venezuela  in  the  centre,  the  government  of  Mara- 
caibo on  the  west,  Guiana  on  the  south,  the  govern- 
ment of  Cumana  on  the  east,  and  the  island  of  Mar- 
garetta  on  the  north-east 

This  government  is  bounded  by  the  sea  on  the 
north,  from  the  75th  degree  of  west  longitude  from 
the  meridian  of  Paris,  to  the  62d,  that  is  to  say,  all 
the  extent  from  the  Cape  de  la  Vela,  to  the  point  of 
Megilones  or  Paria ;  on  the  east,  likewise,  by  the 
sea,  from  the  12th  to  the  8th  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude. Dutch  Guiana  and  Peru  bound  it  on  the  south 
and  the  kingdom  of  St.  Fe  on  the  west. 


51 


Temperature. 

According  to  its  situation,  which,  beginning  from 
the  12th  degree  of  north  latitude,  extends  towards 
the  equinoctial  line,  this  country  ought  only  to  pre- 
sent to  us  a  scorching  sun,  and  a  land  rendered 
uninhabitable  by  excessive  heat ;  but  nature,  alter- 
nately generous,  irregular,  and  capricious,  has  so 
diversified  the  temperature  of  its  climate,  that  in  se- 
veral places,  the  inhabitants  enjoy  the  coolness  of  a 
perpetual  spring;  whilst  in  others,  the  presiding 
latitude  exercises,  without  controul,  the  powers 
which  the  laws  of  nature  have  assigned  to  it. 

Mountains. 

The  phenomenon  of  this  temperature  is  to  be  ac- 
counted for  from  the  link  of  a  chain  of  mountains, 
which  sets  off  from  one  of  the  Andes  of  Quito,  tra- 
verses Merida  and  the  government  of  Varinas,  after 
that  stretches  to  the  north,  as  far  as  the  coast,  thence 
takes  an  eastern  direction,  always  insensibly  dimi- 
nishing in  its  height,  till  it  finally  loses  itself  in  the 
island  of  Trinidad.  The  space  occupied  by  that  chain 
of  mountains  which  traverses  the  provinces  of  Ca- 
raccas,  is,  in  its  ordinary  breadth,  fifteen  leagues ; 
in  some  points  twenty,  but  in  none  less  than  ten. 
It  is  evident,  from  their  moderate  elevation,  that  the 
creator  has  destined  almost  the  whole  of  them  for 
the  use  of  man  ;  for  there  are  very  few  of  them  but 
are  improveable  and  habitable.  That  which  seems 
most  obstinately  to  resist  the  efforts  of  cultivation,  is 
the  eastern  Picacho,  near  Caraccas,  whose  height  is 


52 

about  1278  fathoms.  After  it  comes  Tumeriquiri, 
having  an  elevation  of  935  fathoms  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  These  inequalities  of  the  surface  create 
so  many  different  temperatures,  very  favourable  to 
the  diversity  of  vegetable  productions. 

After  traversing  these  mountains  from  north  to 
south,  we  find  immense  plains  running  from  east  to 
west,  from  the  village  of  Pas,  in  the  67th  degree 
of  west  longitude,  from  the  meridian  of  Paris, 
to  the  bottom  of  the  mountains  of  St.  Fe.  They 
are  bounded  on  the  south,  by  the  river  Oronoko, 
beyond  which  is  Guiana,  which  shall  be  spoken  of 
separately.  In  these  plains  they  suffer  the  most  in- 
tense heat. 

Very  little  research  has  been  made,  with  regard  to 
the  conformation  of  the  mountains  of  Venezuela. — 
The  Spaniards,  who  lose  no  time  in  those  kinds  of 
operations  which  are  more  curious  than  useful,  and 
who  will  not  deign  to  fix  their  attention  upon  any 
thing  but  a  gold,  or,  at  the  very  least,  a  silver  mine, 
have  left  this  in  all  its  obscurity.  But,  according  to 
the  system  generally  adopted  with  respect  to  the  con- 
formation of  mountains,  it  does  not  appear,  that  those 
of  Venezuela,  have  a  sufficient  elevation  to  pass  for 
antediluvian.  Besides,  they  have  not  so  much  of 
the  pyramidical  form  as  distinguishes  the  primitive 
mountains,  nor  the  pointed  and  prominent  rocks,  strip- 
ped of  all  verdure,  the  effect  of  the  wearing  away  of  the 
earth,  occasioned  by  the  rains  ;  on  the  contrary  they 
are  covered  with  a  variety  of  productions  which  an- 
nounce the  vigour  rather  than  the  decrepitude  of  ve- 
getation. It  is,  therefore,  not  only  presumable,  but 


53 

evident,  that  they  are  but  an  accumulation  of  strata  of 
different  substances,  which  the  hand  of  time  has  form- 
ed, and  which  the  same  hand  will  destroy.  What 
further  corroborates  this  opinion,  is  the  quantity  of 
calcareous  substances  found  in  these  mountains,  of 
which  they  would  be  deprived  if  they  were  primitive. 
Some  marble  has  been  discovered  in  them,  and  we 
know  that  this  kind  of  stone  is  but  the  product  of 
marine  shells,  madrepores,  &c.  which  are  only  met 
with  in  mountains  of  the  second  order,  which  owe 
their  existence  entirely  to  the  revolutions  of  the  globe, 
to  the  caprices  and  convulsions  of  nature.  And  yet 
Baron  Humboldt  has  found  upon  the  mountain  de 
la  Selle,  the  highest  of  that  chain,  some  fine  gra- 
nite, of  which  the  quartz,  the  felt-spar  and  the  mi- 
ca are  the  constituent  parts,  which  would  prove,  at 
least,  according  to  the  system  of  M.  Pallas,  that  this 
mountain  is  either  primitive,  or  has  emerged  from 
the  bosom  of  the  waters  at  a  much  earlier  period  than 
its  companions.  But,  not  to  insist  any  further  upon 
a  subject  which  I  may  not  be  able  to  pursue,  without 
disappointing  the  expectations  of  the  reader,  let  me 
be  permitted  to  leave  to  him  the  pleasure,  the  care, 
or  the  pains  of  entering  on  a  more  profound  investi- 
gation of  that  question  ;  for  it  is  the  description  of  a 
country,  and  not  the  history  of  the  globe,  which  I 
have  undertaken  to  give.  It  is  a  truth  which  requires 
the  support  of  neither  commentary,  nor  argument, 
that  these  mountains,  with  a  conformation  similar  to 
that  of  all  the  other  mountains  scattered  over  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  contain  the  same  substances, 
and  would  furnish  the  attentive  observer  with  as 


54 

many  objects  of  curiosity,  as  subjects  of  reflection ; 
but,  when  all  is  considered,  it  must  be  allowed  to 
be  a  truth  not  less  certain,  that  agriculture  in  these 
provinces  presents  to  man  such  a  variety  of  objects 
of  useful  and  ingenious  industry,  as  will  sufficiently 
employ  his  vacant  hours,  and  gratify  his  ambition. 

Mines. 

If  the  provinces  of  Caraccas  enjoy  peculiar  happi- 
ness, it  is  because  they  have  no  mines  to  work. 
By  diligent  search,  the  first  conquerors  found  four 
gold  mines,  which  they  wrought  under  the  name  of 
the  royal  mine  of  St.  Philip  de  Buna.  In  1554,  it 
was  already  abandoned  on  account  of  a  revolt  of  the 
blacks,  who  wrought  at  it,  and  of  the  Indians,  who 
beheld  in  that  establishment,  the  certain  loss  of  their 
independence.  The  ensuing  year,  governor  Villa- 
cinda  proposed  to  resume  the  works.  He  built  a 
city  there,  which  was  called  Palmes ;  but  it  was  no 
sooner  built  than  destroyed.  The  enterprize  was  re- 
newed six  months  after,  under  the  conduct  of  Pa- 
raclas  ;  but  was  attended  with  no  greater  success  than 
those  which  preceded.  He  built  the  city  of  Nir- 
gua,  which  the  Indians  forced  him  to  evacuate.  In 
1557,  the  scheme  was  resumed  by  governor  Gu- 
tierres  de  la  Pcgna.  They  built  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nirgua  a  city,  which,  they  hoped,  would  prove  more 
fortunate  under  the  name  of  New-Xeres  ;  but  it  did 
not  withstand  the  attacks  of  the  Indians  longer  than 
15t38.  Francisco  Faxardo  found  a  second  mine  in  the 
environs  of  the  city  of  St.  Sebastian  de  los  Reyes ;  and 


55 

governor  Collado  was  the  first  that  paid  attention  to  its 
works.  An  insurrection  of  the  Indians  caused  it  to 
be  abandoned.  A  peace  made  with  the  cacique 
Guaycaypuro,  although  far  from  being  a  sincere  one, 
afforded  another  opportunity  of  returning  to  the 
works ;  but  they  were  soon  arrested,  for  the  Indians 
made  their  attack  with  such  a  multitude  of  men,  and 
at  so  unexpected  a  moment,  that  they  butchered  all 
the  workmen,  and  destroyed  the  works  :  nor  has 
there  ever  been  any  attempt  to  re-establish  them. 

Sebastian  Dias  discovered  in  1584,  at  Apa  and 
Carapa,  not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  Tuy,  two 
mines  where  the  gold  was  very  abundant,  and  at 
twenty-three  carats.  Unfortunately  for  the  authors 
of  the  discovery,  but  fortunately  for  the  present  gene- 
ration, the  country  was  found  to  be  so  unhealthy,  that 
every  person  got  sick  there,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber died.  It,  therefore,  became  indispensable  to  a- 
bandon  treasures  that  could  not  be  attained  without 
a  sacrifice  of  men,  which  the  smallness  of  the  popu- 
lation did  not  permit  them  to  support.  In  1606, 
Sancho  Alquisa  wished  to  re-establish  them.  They 
searched  for  them,  but  could  not  find  them.  Time, 
or  rather  the  Indians,  had  not  left  a  single  vestige  cf 
them  undestroved.  Governor  D.  Francisco  Berro- 

j 

caran  made  similar  efforts  in  1698,  and  with  as 
little  success. 

All  these  lucky  crosses  have  delivered  the  inhabi- 
tants from  the  evils  attendant  on  the  working  of  gold 
and  silver  mines,  which,  as  long  as  they  last,  are  the 
tomb  of  the  greatest  part  of  those  who  labour  in  them ; 
which  enervate, emaciate,  and  condemn  toalansuish- 


56 

ing  life  those  who  are  not  stifled  in  their  bosom; 
which  destroy  the  germ  of  all  the  social  and  domestic 
virtues ;  which  banish  all  regard  to  order  and  economy; 
which  support  debauchery  and  dissipation,  with  all 
the  vices  that  follow  in  their  train  ;  and  which,  when 
they  are  exhausted,  for  prodigality  substitute  pover- 
ty ;  for  labour,  vagrancy  ;  and  disgorge  into  society 
the  workmen  whom  they  employed,  without  any 
other  resource  than  to  choose  between  beggary  or 
robbery. 

It  is  pleasing  to  me  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  ob- 
serve, that,  if  these  provinces  have  not  enjoyed,  nor 
are  ever  probably  destined  to  enjoy,  the  transient 
lustre  which  the  mines  confer,  they  are  amply,  very 
amply,  indemnified  by  the  abundant,  precious,  and 
inexhaustible  productions  of  a  soil,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  its  fertility,  and  extent,  will  become  the 
constant  abode  of  ease  and  happiness,  and  that  too, 
when  those  countries,  which  boast  of  their  mines, 
will  present  but  rubbish,  ruins,  and  frightful  exca- 
vations, the  melancholy  monuments  of  departed  opu- 
lence. 

Yet,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  St.  Philip,  some  mines 
of  copper  of  superior  quality,  are  made  an  object  of 
considerable  attention,  but  they  do  not  employ  such 
a  number  of  hands  as  to  cause  humanity  to  groan  at 
the  sight  of  its  own  degradation,  nor  to  occasion  a  di- 
version from  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  materially 
prejudicial.  The  convenience  of  ready  supply,  and 
the  low  price  of  this  metal,  being  sold  at  15  piastres 
per  quintal,  have  induced  the  greater  part  "of  the  plan- 
ters who  cultivate  the  cane,  to  have  their  boilers,  and 
the  cylinders  of  their  mills  made  of  it.  There  is  the 


51 

greater  probability  that  this  example  will  be  univer- 
sally followed,  especially  with  respect  to  the  boilers, 
as  copper,  being  more  permeable  than  iron,  opposes 
less  resistance  to  the  action  of  the  fire,  and  conse- 
quently the  boiling  goes  on  with  more  promptness  in 
the  copper,  than  in  the  iron  boilers,  from  which  re- 
sults, at  least,  a  saving  of  time  and  fuel.  Another  rea- 
son entitles  the  copper  to  a  preference  :  when  an  iron 
boiler,  or  cylinder  breaks,  there  is  equally  a  loss  of 
materials  and  of  manufacture,  whereas  when  they  are 
made  of  copper,  the  owner  suffers  a  loss  amounting  to 
little  more  than  the  charges  of  workmanship. 

Besides  supplying  the  local  consumption,  the  cop- 
per of  those  mines  has  furnished  for  exportation,  from 
Porto-Cabello,  which  is  the  most  convenient  port, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-one  quintals ;  and  the  quan- 
tity would  be  much  greater,  but  for  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  war, 

Pearl  Fishery* 

At  the  beginning  of  the  discovery  of  Terra-Firma, 
the  pearl  fishery  formed  the  most  considerable  branch 
of  the  riches  of  the  country,  and  of  the  revenues  of  the 
king.  It  was  carried  on  between  the  islands  of  Cuba- 
gua  and  Margaretta,  at  the  expense  of  the  lives  of 
a  great  number  of  Spaniards  and  Indians,  who  perish- 
ed in  that  business,  the  effects  of  which  are  as  deplo^ 
rable  as  those  of  the  mines.  The  island  of  Cubagua 
is  but  a  barren  land,  without  water  and  without  wood. 
It  was  the  first  abode  chosen  by  the  Spaniards,  and 

cupidity  alone  could  render  it  supportable.     It  be- 
VOL.  I.  M 


58 

comes  a  subject  of  congratulation,  that  certain  circum- 
stances, which  seem  to  accord  with  the  great  design 
of  providence  in  making  the  inhabitants  of  Venezuela 
an  agricultural  people,  caused  them  to  abandon  the 
pearl  fishery,  which  they  never  after  resumed.  Nay,  it 
is  pretended  that  the  pearls  have  disappeared  from  the 
eastern  coast,  and  that  the  first  place  on  the  leeward 
where  that  fishery  is  carried  on  with  some  success,  is 
a  bay  situated  between  Cape  Chichibacoa  and  Cape 
de  la  Vela,  occupied  by  the  Guahiros  Indians,  who 
sell  their  pearls  to  the  Dutch  and  English. 

Salt. 

The  whole  coast  north  of  the  province  of  Venezue- 
la furnishes  a  considerable  quantity  of  salt,  of  a  beau- 
tiful whiteness ;  but  the  most  abundant  salt-pit  is  that 
of  Araya,  which  may  vie  with  all  those  of  America, 
not  even  excepting  Turks  Island.  That  salt-pit  con- 
sists of  a  mixture  of  the  fossil  and  marine  salts. 
Its  working  is  very  little  attended  to  ;  so  that  it  does 
not  yield  the  one  hundredth  part  of  the  quantity  it  is 
capable  of  producing.  It  will  appear,  from  the  chap- 
ter on  the  imposts,  that  the  king  causes  the  salt  to  be 
sold  on  his  account,  or  commits  the  concern  to  others. 
The  smallness  of  the  revenue  arising  from  it  will  ap- 
pear astonishing. 

Mineral  Waters. 

These  provinces  abound  in  mineral  waters,  some 
warm,  some  cold.  They  are  to  be  found  here  of  va- 


59 

rious  qualities,  such  as  the  ammoniacal,  the  ferru- 
ginous, the  nitrous,  and  even  the  acidulous.  Medi- 
cine does  not  derive  from  them  all  the  advantages 
'  they  are  capable  of  affording,  because,  in  general, 
they  are  at  too  great  a  distance  from  inhabited 
places,  and  consequently  the  patient  cannot,  with- 
out depriving  himself  of  those  domestic  attentions 
which  contribute  so  much  to  the  recovery  of  health, 
leave  his  own  habitation  to  try  a  remedy,  which  lo- 
cal inconveniences  must  evidently  render  ineffica- 
cious. This  is  the  only  reason  which  causes  these 
springs  to  be  so  little  frequented,  and  even  so  little 
known. 

Some  of  these  waters  have  a  degree  of  heat,  which 
approaches  to  that  of  boiling  water.  Those  that  are 
upon  the  old  way  leading  from  Porto  Bello  to  Valencia, 
rise  to  the  72d  degree  j  and  another  spring  in  the  val- 
lies  of  Aragua  is  still  hotter. 

Seasons. 

The  year  is  not  divided  in  this  part  of  South  Amer- 
ica, as  it  is  in  Europe.  Neither  spring  nor  w«tter 
are  known  here,  except  from  books.  Winter  and 
summer  complete  the  whole  year.  It  is  neither  cold 
nor  heat  which  marks  their  distinctive  boundaries, 
but  rain  and  drought.  To  what  is  called  winter  is 
assigned  the  interval  of  time  between  the  months  of 
April  and  November,  which  is  precisely  the  rainy 
season  ;  to  summer,  the  six  remaining  months,  du- 
ring which  the  rains  are  less  frequent,  sometimes  even 
rare,. 


60 
Rains. 

About  an  equal  quantity  of  rain  falls  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  Venezuela,  Cumana,  and  Guiana.  The 
plains,  mountains,  and  rallies  participate  the  bless- 
ings and  inconveniences  of  the  rains,  which,  howev- 
er, are  not  without  intermission.  There  are  days 
when  not  a  drop  falls  ;  there  are  others,  but  not  fre- 
quent, when  it  rains  incessantly.  It  may  be  calcu- 
lated, that  one  day  with  another,  it  rains  for  the  space 
of  three  hours,  and  oftener  in  the  evening  than  in 
the  morning.  All  this  is  to  be  understood  of  the 
rainy  season. 

The  drizzling  rains  of  the  polar  regions  are  never 
seen  here ;  but  notwithstanding  that,  the  sudden 
heavy  falls  of  the  torrid  zone,  the  discharges  from  the 
water-spouts  rushing  down  with  the  violence  of  a  tor- 
rent, produce  more  water  in  one  single  day,  than  the 
rains  of  Europe  do  in  six.  Besides,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  consider  that  the  country  which  I  de- 
scribe, lies  entirely  beyond  the  llth  degree  of  north 
latitude,  stretching  towards  the  equator,  and  that  the 
total  quantity  of  the  equinoctial  rains  are  estimated 
at  ten  times  that  of  the  arctic  and  antarctic  rains,  to 
make  it  appear  less  surprising  when  we  sea  that  all  the 
rivers  remain  in  a  state  of  inundation  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  rainy  season  ;  that  those  extra- 
neous channels  formed  by  the  violence  of  the  floods, 
which  remain  dry  the  rest  of  the  year,  become  tor- 
rents ;  and  that  they  are  covered  with  water  to  an  im- 
mense distance,  where  the  traveller  descries  only  the 
tops  of  the  tallest  trees,  which  then  serve  him  for 


61 
> 

land-marks.  This  kind  of  accidental  sea  is  principally 
formed  in  the  northern  plains  of  the  Oronoko,  and 
in  a  space  extending  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  in 
length  and  forty  in  breadth. 

Earthquakes. 

It  is  a  remark  made  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  these 
provinces,  that  the  rains,  before  1792,  were  accom* 
panied  with  lightnings  and  terrible  claps  of  thunder, 
and  that  since  that  period,  till  1804,  the  rain  falls  in 
greater  abundance,  without  any  of  the  usual  accompa- 
niments of  a  storm.  It  appears,  that  the  atmospheric 
electricity  has  been  attracted  and  accumulated  in  that 
mass  of  matter,  which  forms  the  Cordilleras,  and  to 
this  cause  is  to  be  ascribed  the  earthquakes  which 
have  been  experienced  at  Cumana  in  the  month  of 
December,  1797,  and  whose  ravages  have  been  so 
great.  They  had  not  felt  any  of  these  commotions 
since  1778  and  1779. 

This  part  of  South  America,  although  placed  be- 
tween the  Antilles,  where  earthquakes  are  so  fre- 
quent and  Peru,  where  they  are  still  more  frequent, 
enjoys,  in  the  midst  of  this  agitated  country,  intervals 
of  repose,  which  would  border  upon  the  miraculous, 
if  it  did  not  depend  on  a  circumstance  happily  in  its 
favour,  namely,  that  its  air  being  less  rarefied,  gives 
less  action  to  electricity,  and  that  its  land  contains  in 
its  bosom  a  smaller  portion  of  the  principles  of  fer- 
mentation and  combustion. 

On  the  1st  May,  1802,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  there  was  a  pretty  strong  shock  felt  at  Ca, 


62 

raccas,  with  oscillations  from  west  to  east.  On  the 
20th  of  the  same  month,  at  five  minutes  past  four 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  there  was  another  of  a  vertical 
direction,  which  lasted  one  minute,  nor  did  the  earth 
resume  its  horizontal  level,  till  two  minutes  there- 
after. On  4th  July  following,  at  forty-eight  minutes 
past  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  two  strong  shocks 
were  felt ;  on  the  same  day,  at  thirty-five  minutes 
past  six  in  the  morning,  there  was  another  not  so 
strong.  The  causes  and  local  origin  of  the  earth- 
quakes appear  to  be  in  the  province  of  Cumana  ;  for 
they  are  there  more  violent  than  elsewhere.  (See 
Cumana,  in  the  chapter  containing  the  description  of 
the  cities.) 

Timber  for  building. 

The  mountains  of  Venezuela  produce  the  same 
kinds  of  wood,  as  the  Antilles,  besides  a  great  many 
others,  which  are  peculiar  to  them.  The  vast  forests 
which  cover  them,  would  be  capable  of  furnishing, 
for  ages,  the  most  extensive  ship-yards,  with  an 
abundant  supply  of  timber,  if  the  roughness  of  the 
mountains  did  not  render  the  labour  of  cutting  and 
conveyance  too  difficult  and  too  expensive  for  a  coun- 
try whose  navigation  does  not  receive  sufficient  en- 
couragement to  enable  it  to  support  its  own  expense. 

It  is  twenty  years  since  the  king  ordered  arrange- 
ments to  be  made  in  the  province  of  Curnana  for 
the  felling  of  wood  to  supply  his  European  arsenals. 
This  work  did  not  last  a  long  time  ;  but  it  ceased  not 
so  much  on  account  of  any  scarcity  of  wood,  as  on  ac- 


count  of  the  immense  expenses  which  accompany 
every  undertaking  in  which  the  king  is  concerned. 
When  an  occasion  of  this  kind  presents  itself,  every 
overseer  always  forms,  and  very  frequently  realizes 
schemes  of  making  his  fortune,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  state  is  often  ruined  by  the  same  operations 
which  enrich  individuals. 

By  the  rivers  of  Tocuyo  and  Yaraqui,  they  trans- 
port to  Porto  Cabello,  situated  fifteen  leagues  to  the 
windward,  all  the  timber  which  is  consumed  in  the 
port  for  the  refitting,  and  even  for  the  building  of 
vessels. 

A  little  more  to  the  windward  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Tocuyo,  in  the  latitudes  of  the  small  Tucacas 
islands,  the  proximity  of  wood  facilitates  the  estab- 
lishment of  yards,  but  the  want  of  demand  causes 
that  resource  to  be  neglected.  At  Maracaibo,  they 
use  for  building,  timber  of  superior  quality  to  that 
of  Terra  Firma  ;  accordingly  the  yards  of  that  city 
are  constantly  busy  ;  and  would  be  still  more  so,  if 
the  bar  permitted  the  egress  of  ships  of  a  larger  size, 

Timber  for  Carpenter-  Work. 

Carpenters  and  Cabinet-makers  find  likewise  in 
these  mountains  materials  so  various  as  to  embarrass 
them  in  the  choice.  In  general,  they  use  the  wood 
which  the  Spaniards  call  Pardillo,  for  beams,  joists, 
door-frames  and  posts,  &c.  In  some  places,  instead 
of  the  Pardillo,  a  species  of  very  hard  oak  is  used, 
which  is  the  Quercus  Cerus  of  Linnaeus,  and  the 
Quercus  Gallifer  of  Tournefort. 


Timber  for  Cabinet-  Work. 

Cabinet-makers  make  great  use  of  Cedar  for  doors, 
windows,  tables,  and  common  chairs,  &c.  For  orna- 
mental furniture,  they  have  at  hand  several  kinds  of 
wood  susceptible  of  the  finest  polish.  Amongst  these 
is  distinguished  the  black  ebony,  found  in  the  great- 
est abundance  in  several  places,  but  particularly  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Totondoy,  which  falls  into  the  lake 
Maracaibo.  It  is  there  that  nature  seems  to  have 
placed  the  nursery  of  those  trees  that  are  most,  sub- 
servient to  the  necessities,  the  pleasure,  and  the  ca- 
price of  man.  Yellow  ebony  is  very  common  in  the 
forests  of  Terra  Firma  ;  so  likewise  is  red  ebony. — 
The  Spaniards  call  the  black  ebony,  ebano  ;  the  yel- 
low, palo  amarillo  ;  the  red,  granadillo.  Minute 
accuracy  obliges  me  to  observe,  that  from  one  of 
those  causes  which  philosophy  has  not  yet  explored 
among  the  secrets  of  nature,  mahogany  in  Terra  Fir- 
ma  is  not  so  abundant  as  it  is  in  that  part  of  St.  Do- 
mingo which  Spain  ceded  to  France,  nor  can  it  bear 
any  comparison  with  respect  to  its  shades  or  gloss. 

Timber  for  particular  uses. 

For  works  which  require  extraordinary  hard  wood 
they  employ  iron- wood,  the  Ybera  puterana  of 
Marcgrave. 

It  is  used  for  the  axle-trees  which  support  the 
wheels  of  water-mills,  for  the  rollers  with  which  the 
cylinders  are  jointed  for  pressing  the  sugar  canes,  &c. 
&c.  This  kind  of  wood  is  common  through  the 


65 

whole  of  Terra  Firma,  excepting  in  the  vallies  of 
Aragoa,  where,  on  account  of  the  clearing  of  the 
lands,  it  is  a  little  farther  distant.  The  wood  which 
the  Spaniards  call  granadillo,  or  red  ebony,  is  applied 
to  the  same  uses  as  the  iron- wood,  and  it  surpasses 
it  even  in  hardness. 

Wood  for  Dyeing. 

No  wood  is  as  yet  furnished  here,  fit  for  dying,  ex- 
cept Brasil-wood,  which  grows  in  abundance  be- 
tween la  Victoria  and  St.  Sebastian  de  los  Reyes, 
and  the  fustic,  which  is  more  common  than  any 
where  else  in  the  environs  of  Maracaibo,  and  yet 
the  quantity  furnished  is  far  from  being  considerable. 
The  inhabitants  of  Merida  alone,  without  the  assist- 
ance of  any  foreign  drug,  fix  all  kinds  of  colours. — 
But  the  more  those  immense  forests  are  penetrated, 
which  have  been  till  now  the  exclusive  domain 
of  ferocious  animals  and  venemous  reptiles,  the  more 
undoubtedly  will  new  productions  be  discovered  t© 
enrich  the  arts  and  to  enlarge  commerce. 

Medical  Plants,   Gums,  Rosins  and  Oils. 

This  observation  is  particularly  applicable,  when 
we  come  to  speak  of  the  gums,  rosins,  roots,  barks 
and  plants,  whose  virtues  are  acknowledged  in  me- 
dicine. It  would  be  a  desirable  object  that  gentle- 
men of  that  profession,  under  the  appointment  and 
pay  of  government,  should  be  sent  to  explore  a 
country  where  nature  has  been  so  prodigal  of  her  fa- 
vours. 

VOL.  I.  * 


66 

There  would  undoubtedly  result  from  their  re. 
searches  and  experiments',  infinite  advantages  to 
mankind,  as  well  as  a  considerable  augmentation  of 
the  articles  of  exchange,  which  would  prove  very  be- 
neficial to  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  for  at 
present,  they  have  hardly  any  commodity  which  they 
can  bring  to  market  but  the  cacao  oil ;  and  it  is  only 
in  the  province  of  Cumana  that  they  have  carried 
this  branch  of  manufacture  so  far  as  to  leave  a  pretty 
considerable  surplus  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  the 
merchant,  after  allowing  for  local  consumption.— 
Amidst  the  immensity  of  other  vegetable  productions 
which  would  be  amply  sufficient  to  supply  all  the 
pharmacy  of  Europe,  in  1796,  there  was  exported, 
by  the  port  of  Goayre,  the  only  one  then  permitted 
to  trade  directly  with  the  metropolis,  but  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  pounds  of  sarsaparilla,  although 
the  plains  and  vallies  were  covered  with  it ;  five  hun- 
dred pounds  of  tamarinds,  which  are  every  where  to 
be  found  ;  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pounds 
of  Jesuit's  Bark,  which,  it  must  be  allowed,  is  not  so 
common. 

It  is  true,  that  this  carelessness  carries  with  it  the 
appearance  of  a  wilful  diminution  ;  for  according  to 
the  account  of  exports  from  the  same  port  of  Goayre 
for  the  year  1798,  it  appears  that  the  neutral  vessels, 
which  were  admitted  there,  in  consequence  of  the 
war,  shipped  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  sventy- 
four  pounds  of  sarsaparilla  and  three  thousand  four 
hundred  pounds  of  rosin.  In  180 1,  there  was  ship- 
ped from  Porto  Cabello  two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  ninety  four  pounds  of  sarsaparilla  and  forty-seven 


thousand  nine  hundred  arid  sixty-nine  of  gum  guaia- 
cum.  But  these  articles  and  their  quantities  are  altoge- 
ther unworthy  of  notice,  when  compared  with  those 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  provinces  of  Caraccas. 

Lakes. 

As  the  description  of  a  country  should  embrace 
whatever  tends  to  give  an  accurate  idea  of  it,  we 
must  not  neglect  to  make  mention  both  of  the  lakes 
which  are  formed  by  the  rains,  and  those  which  are 
the  mere  reservoirs  of  the  rivers,  whose  waters  they 
receive.  A  great  number  of  the  first  kind  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  low-lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Oronoko. 
The  two  greatest  of  the  second  kind  are  those  of 
Maracaibo  and  Valencia,  both  well  deserving  a  parti- 
cular description. 

Lake  of  Maracaibo. 

The  lake  of  Maracaibo,  always  retains  the  name 
of  the  cacique  who  ruled  there.  It  is  nearly  of  the 
form  of  a  decanter,  lying  from  south  to  north  with 
its  neck  communicating  with  the  sea.  Its  length,  from 
the  bar  to  its  most  southern  recess,  is,  according  to 
Oviedo,  fifty  leagues  ;  its  greatest  breadth  thirty  ;  and 
its  circumference  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  fifty. 
This  great  lake  may  have  owed  its  formation,  to  the 
slow  and  gradual  excavation  occasioned  by  numerous 
rivers  which,  flowing  from  east,  west,  and  south,  here 
terminate  their  course.  The  progress  of  these 
streams  may  have  probably  been  arrested  when  the 


68 

reservoir  had  acquired  sufficient  magnitude  and  eleva- 
tion of  surface,  to  resist  the  shock  of  the  conflicting 
waters  and  give  their  currents  a  direction  towards  the 
sea. 

This  lake  is  easily  navigated,  and  carries  vessels  of 
the  greatest  burden.  All  the  produce  and  provisions 
of  the  interior,  intended  for  consumption  or  shipping 
at  Maracaibo,  are  conveyed  by  the  rivers  which  dis- 
charge themselves  into  it.  Hurricanes  are  not  fre- 
quent on  this  lake,  yet  there  is  always  a  kind  of  undu- 
lation on  the  surface  of  the  water,  proportioned  to  the 
degree  of  excitement  which  its  extent  leaves  in  the 
power  of  the  winds,  and  when  strong  breezes  prevail, 
particularly  from  the  northward,  its  waves  are  suffi- 
ciently agitated  to  bury  under  them  the  canoes  and 
small  craft.  It  is  then  only  that  the  waters  of  the  sea, 
forcing  their  way  towards  the  lake,  give  a  brackish 
taste  to  it  as  far  as  Maracaibo  ;  for  at  all  other  times 
it  is  fresh  and  fit  for  drinking  as  far  as  the  sea.  The 
baths  which  are  used  there,  and  which  the  intense 
heat  of  the  country  renders  indispensable,  are  attend- 
ed with  very  salutary  effects. 

The  tide  is  more  perceptible  on  the  borders  of  the 
lake  than  on  the  neighbouring  coasts ;  it  appears  that 
this  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  lake's  own  waters,  and 
not  to  those  of  the  sea.  It  \vould  indeed  be  reasona- 
ble to  suppose  that  if  it  \vas  caused  by  the  sea,  it 
would  have  on  its  shores  a  higher  tide  than  in  the 
lake,  inasmuch  as  the  remotest  part  of  the  lake  is  at 
the  distance  of  fifty  leagues,  and  the  saltwater  would 
enter  the  lake,  whereas  it  does  not. 


69 

All  the  different  kinds  of  fish  furnished  by  the  rivers 
of  South  America  abound  in  this  lake.  The  tortoise 
alone,  by  a  remarkable  singularity,  is  not  found  here. 

To  the  north-east  of  the  lake,  in  the  most  barren 
part  of  the  borders,  and  in  a  place  called  Mena,  there 
is  an  inexhaustible  stock  of  mineral  pitch,  which  is  the 
true  natural  pessaphalte.  (pix  montanaj  When  mix- 
ed with  suet  it  is  used  for  graving  vessels. 

The  bituminous  vapours  which  are  exhaled  from 
this  mine  are  so  easily  inflamed  that  during  the  night 
phosphoric  fires  are  continually  seen,  which  in  their  ef- 
fects resemble  lightening.  It  is  remarked  that  they 
are  more  frequent  in  great  heat,  than  in  cool  weather. 
They  go  by  the  name  of  the  Lantern  of  Maracaibo, 
because  they  serve  for  a  light-house  and  compass  to 
the  Spaniards  and  Indians  who,  without  the  assistance 
of  either,  navigate  the  lake,  and  have  no  other  object 
for  observation  but  the  sun  during  the  day,  and  these 
fires  at  night.  Nature  seems  purposely  to  have  pro- 
vided them  for  the  protection  and  security  of  naviga- 
tion. 

The  sterility,  and  what  is  worse,  the  noxious  atmos- 
phere of  the  borders  of  the  lake,  discourage  culture 
and  population.  The  Indians  themselves  have  at  all 
times  observed  them  to  be  so  unhealthy  that  instead 
of  fixing  their  abodes  there  they  preferred  dwelling  on 
the  lake  itself.  They  chose  for  the  stakes  of  the  huts 
which  they  inhabited  on  the  water  a  very  durable  kind 
of  wood,  of  the  same  species  with  the  iron- wood. 
According  toOviedo,and  the  tradition  of  the  country, 
this  wood  underwent  the  process  of  petrifaction,  in 
every  part  which  was  under  water,  in  a  few  years. 


70 

Whatever  pains  I  have  have  taken  to  ascertain 
tliis  fact,  I  have  only  been  able  to  see  imperfect  pe- 
trifactions, on  which  the  stamp  of  time  was  visibly 
impressed.  It  is  therefore  to  be  presumed,  that  this 
transmutation  takes  effect  in  the  iron- wood,  because, 
being  slower  in  its  decay  than  almost  any  other 
species  of  wood,  nature,  who  is  not  over  hasty  many 
of  her  labours,  disseminates,  through  the  fibres  of 
this  durable  matrix,  the  primitive  moisture,  which 
receives  its  growth  by  the  laws  of  affinity.  Thus, 
from  this  phenomenon,  no  reason  is  adduced  to  alter 
the  established  opinion  with  respect  to  the  slowness 
of  petrifaction. 

The  Spaniards  found  on  this  lake  several  villages, 
built  without  order,  without  design,  but  with  solidity. 
On  this  account  they  gave  them  the  name  of  Vene- 
zuela, a  diminutive  of  Venice,  which  they  have  not  re- 
tained, but  which  has  been  since  applied  to  the  whole 
province.  Alfinger,  in  the  rage  of  devastation,  car- 
ried desolation  and  death  amongst  those  peaceable  in- 
habitants. Only  four  villages  escaped.  It  was  for 
a  long  time  believed  that  those  small  settlements 
were  formed  upon  the  waters,  as  a  protection  from 
ferocious  beasts,  or  some  hostile  nation.  That  this 
idea  was  erroneous,  is  now  apparent  from  the 
refusal  of  the  Indians  who  live  on  the  waters  to 
fix  their  habitation  on  land.  Those  villages,  all  si- 
tuated in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island,  at  unequal 
distances  from  one  another,  arc  called  Lagunillas, 
Misoa,  Tumopora  and  Moporo.  They  have  a  church 
upon  the  water,  under  the  care  of  a  curate,  who  is 
charged  with  the  distribution  of  spiritual  aid  amongst 


71 

the  aquatic  Indians.  These  functions  afford  proofs 
the  more  unequivocal  of  the  zeal  of  the  minister  who 
discharges  them  as  it  is  rare  for  his  health  not  to  be 
affected  within  fifteen  days  after  his  arrival,  and  rarer 
still  for  his  life  to  be  prolonged  beyond  six  months. 
Those  Indians  go  on  land  in  search  of  provisions,  but 
their  principal  subsistence  is  derived  from  fishing. 

The  hunting  of  wild-ducks  is  likewise  one  of  their 
great  resources,  and  they  pursue  it  in  a  very  singular 
manner.  They  always  keep  adrift  upon  the  lake, 
and  round  their  huts,  some  empty  gourd-bottles,  that 
the  habit  of  seeing  them  may  prevent  the  ducks  from 
being  scared  by  them.  When  the  Indian  wants  to 
lay  in  provisions,  he  thrusts  his  head  into  a  gourd- bot- 
tle, bored  in  such  a  manner  as  to  enable  him  to  see 
without  being  seen.  Thus  equipped  he  swims  to  the 
place  where  the  ducks  are :  he  then  catches  them  by 
the  legs  and  whips  them  under  water,  before  they  have 
time  to  quack,  or  make  any  movement  which  might 
warn  the  rest  of  the  danger  which  threatens  them.  The 
game  which  he  takes  he  ties  to  his  belt.  He  never  re- 
tires without  fully  supplying  his  wants.  It  is  much  in 
favour  of  this  sly,  silent  manner  of  hunting,  that  it  does 
not  scare  the  game,  that  it  may  be  renewed  at  every 
moment  with  the  same  success  and  always  without  ex- 
pense. The  goodness  of  the  soil,  in  the  western  part, 
has  induced  some  Spaniards,  regardless  of  the  incle- 
mency of  the  air,  to  fix  their  habitations  there,  in  or- 
der to  raise  cacao  and  provisions.  These  settlements, 
which  were  very  much  dispersed,  were  not  able  to 
command  sufficient  funds  for  laying  the  foundation  of 
a  village,  much  less  of  a  city.  There  is  but  one  cha- 


72 

pel  placed  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  scattered  habita- 
tions, and  a  curate  for  performing  divine  service  and 
administering  the  sacraments. 

The  southern  extremity  of  the  lake  is  uncultivated 
and  uninhabited. 

The  northern  part  is  quite  as  hot  as  the  other  parts, 
but  incomparably  healthier.  The  city  of  Mara- 
caibo  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  to  the  west ;  and 
opposite  are  two  villages,  the  one  called  Punta  a 
Piedra,  inhabited  by  Indians,  the  other  Altagracia, 
occupied  by  Spaniards  upon  the  left  bank.  The  lat- 
ter is  to  the  north  of  the  former. 

Lake  of  Valencia. 

The  lake  of  Valencia,  by  the  Indians  called  Taca- 
rigua,  presents  a  prospect  much  more  agreeable  than 
that  of  Maracaibo.  True,  it  is  not  so  extensive,  but 
it  is  much  more  useful.  Its  borders,  instead  of  be- 
ing struck,  like  those  of  Maracaibo,  with  that  aridity 
which  saddens  the  soul,  and  that  unhealthy  air  which 
conspires  to  destroy  the  existence  of  man,  present 
the  delightful  view  of  an  attractive  fertility,  and  of  an 
agreeable  and  far  more  healthy  temperature. 

The  extent  of  the  lake  of  Valencia  has  been  differ- 
ently determined  by  all  those  authors  who  have  spo- 
ken of  it.  Oviedo,  near  a  hundred  years  ago,  declar- 
ed it  to  be  fourteen  leagues  long  and  six  broad.  Cis- 
neros,  in  1787,  allowed  it  to  be  eighteen  long  and 
about  six  broad.  The  author  of  the  geographical 
map  of  the  province  of  Venezuela,  assigned  to  it,  in 
1787,  ten  Castilian  leagues  in  length  and  three  and  a 


73 

half  in  breadth.  They  are  as  little  agreed  with  re- 
spect to  its  situation,  and  its  influence  on  culture,  as  to 
the  space  it  occupies.  Happily  for  me,  I  find  my- 
self freed  from  the  necessity  of  blindly  adopting  any 
of  those  opinions,  by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  my 
own  eyes,  and  that  of  the  intelligent  Spaniards  who 
live  in  the  vicinity. 

This  lake  is  from  East  N.  E.  to  West  S.  W.  thir- 
teen leagues  and  a  half,  and  its  greatest  breadth 
four.  It  has  an  oblong  form.  It  is  at  the  distance  of 
one  league  from  Valencia,  and  situated  in  a  valley 
surrounded  with  mountains,  excepting  on  the  west, 
where  it  extends  into  the  interior  part  of  the  country. 

The  waters  of  twenty  rivers  are  discharged  into  it 
without  any  visible  outlet.  It  is  at  about  the  distance 
of  six  leagues  from  the  sea,  and  the  space  which  sep- 
arates them  is  filled  with  inaccessible  mountains.  It 
is  the  more  difficult  to  account  for  its  having  no  visi- 
ble passage  for  discharge,  as  it  receives  rivers  on  all 
sides,  which  proves  it  to  be  a  perfect  basin.  But, 
then,  how  should  it  have  remained  the  same  without 
increase  or  diminution  of  water  for  so  many  ages  ? 
Would  evaporation  alone,  great  as  it  may  be  between, 
the  tropics,  have  been  adequate  to  the  consumption 
of  so  great  a  quantity  as  the  rivers  supply  ?  We 
must,  therefore,  suppose,  not  less  out  of  compliment 
to  human  sagacity,  than  for  the  honour  of  natural  phi- 
losophy, that  there  exists  a  subterraneous  passage, 
by  which  as  great  a  quantity  of  water  is  discharged, 
as  is  received  from  the  rivers.  This  opinion,  which 

Voi.  I.  o 


74 


I  only  offer  as  a  conjecture,  is  supported  however  by 
probabilities,  which  give  it  the  appearance  of  an  un- 
deniable truth.     It  is  observed,  that  the  boats  which 
navigate  this  lake,  sail  with  rapidity  from  the  borders 
to  the  centre,  where  the  navigator  runs  the  risk  of 
some  dangers,  but  to  return  to  the  borders,  requires 
more  time  and  trouble.     What  are  we  to  conclude 
from  this  fact,  but  that  there  exists  at  the  bottom  of 
the  lake  an  aperture,  by  which  the  waters  are  contin- 
ually discharged  ?     In  this  manner  it  may  be  accoun- 
ted for  why  this  lake  has  not  increased  in  proportion 
to  the  volume  of  water  it  has  received.     And  this 
supposition,  whether  true  or  false,  might  be  assign- 
ed as  the  cause  for  the  considerable  depression,  which 
the    waters    of  the  lake   have  experienced  a  few 
years  since,  and   which  still    visibly    continues. — 
Were  it  possible  to  augment  the  quantity  of  water 
discharged  by  the  subterraneous  passage,  the  phe- 
nomenon would  immediately  bfe  explained.      But 
without  having  recourse  to  any  occult  cause,  thelrea- 
son  of  that  npid  and  continual  diminution,  is  found 
in  the  increased  consumption  which  the  inhabitants 
have  made  of  the  water  of  the  rivers  that  are  dischar- 
ged into  the  lake,  in  order  to  refresh  their  plantations. 
These  waters,  diffused  over  a  considerable  surface, 
evaporate,  or  become  an  elementary  principle  of  ve- 
getation ;  and  are  consequently  lost  to  the  general  re- 
servoir, which,  as  it  receives  less  water,  must  neces- 
sarily decrease.     In  proportion  as  the  lake  diminish- 
es it  leaves  uncovered  lands,  lands  to  which  the 
slime,  composed  of  all  sorts  of  substances,  deposited 


for  ages  past,  has  imparted  a  prodigious  fertility. 
This  new  soil  the  cultivator  fondly  selects  for  the  ap- 
plication of  his  anxious  cares  and  the  exercise  of  his 
laborious  industry. 

Its  eastern  part  is  appropriated  to  the  culture  of  to- 
bacco for  the  king's  benefit ;  this  tract  being  divided 
into  five  plantations,  employs  fifteen  thousand  persons. 
The  remainder  of  the  land  gained  from  the  lake  is  laid 
out  for  other  kinds  of  culture. 

The  birds  which  constantly  abide  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  lakes,  afford  continual  delight  by  the  diversity  of 
their  species,  the  vivid  colours  of  their  plumage,  and 
the  variety  of  their  notes,  of  which  some  are  exqui- 
sitely melodious.     The  abundance  of  aquatic  game 
which  the  huntsman  finds  here  considerably  enhances 
the  delightfulness  of  the  abode.     But  the  unfading 
verdure  which  embellishes  the  borders  of  the  lake, 
and  the  productions  with  which  they  are  crowned,  in- 
spire sensations  which  seem  spontaneous,  wherever 
nature  displays  her  riches  with  more  than  ordinary 
magnificence.     The  produce  which  is  sent  from  the 
borders  of  the  lake,  or  the  rivers  which  pay  it  tri- 
bute,   is  transported  in  vessels  of  different  dimen- 
sions.   The  navigation,  however,  is  not  very  easy,  not 
only  from  the  cause  already  stated,  but  from  the  nu- 
merous small  islands  with  which  the  lake  is  inter- 
spersed, making  the  use  of  the  sail  almost  impracti- 
cable. 

Some  of  these  islands  are  imperceptibly  enlarged 
in  proportion  to  the  diminution  of  the  lake.  They 
are  inhabited ;  and  that  which  is  called  Caratapona 
contains  a  population  sufficient  to  raise  provisions, 


fruits,  and  vegetables  for  market.  It  has  a  spring 
of  water  far  better  than  that  of  the  lake,  which  is 
very  heavy  and  of  a  nauseous  taste.  When  ex- 
amined by  the  touch  it  appears  to  be  of  the  nature  of 
lixivial  water.  The  quantity  of  vegetable  and  animal 
substances  which  putrify  in  its  bosom  must  undoubt- 
edly give  it  that  clammy  consistence. 

There  is  a  much  greater  quantity  than  variety  of 
fish  in  this  lake.  The  fish  which  the  Spaniards  call 
guavina  is  the  most  abundant ;  after  that  come  the 
bagre  or  silicus  bagre  of  Linnaeus,  and  the  baveuse, 
which  the  Spaniards  call  bava  (blennius  pholis.) 

Upon  the  borders  of  the  lake  a  great  many  reptiles 
are  to  be  seen.  Among  these  are  two  kinds  of  lizards, 
which  are  particularly  distinguished.  The  iguana 
is  what  the  Spaniards  call  mattos,  of  which  the  Indians 
and  some  Spaniards  make  their  most  delicious  meals. 
The  very  thought  of  an  animal,  which  the  prejudices 
of  education  class  among  vipers,  snakes,  serpents, 
toads,  &c.  has  prevented  me  from  eating  of  it ;  but  I 
have  had  frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  that  neither 
the  Indians  nor  Spaniards  partake  of  this  antipathy. 
Before  I  knew  any  thing  of  this  article  of  their  food, 
being  one  day  overpowered  with  the  excessive  heat 
upon  the  border  of  the  lake,  I  resolved  to  go  and  rest 
myself  a  few  hours  in  a  house  inhabited  by  Indians. 
A  little  after  my  arrival,  I  saw  the  Indian  chief  take 
his  bow  and  quiver.  I  asked  him  what  he  was  going 
to  do ;  he  replied  that  he  was  going  to  see  if  he  could 
get  something  for  dinner ;  in  an  hour  after,  he  came 
home  with  a  superb  iguana,  pierced  with  an  arrow, 
and  agreeing  in  every  respect  with  the  description 


77 

given  of  it  by  Valmont  de  Bomare.  The  good  Indian 
kindly  invited  me  to  partake  of  it.  My  refusal  ap- 
peared at  first  to  mortify  him ;  but  after  I  had  ex- 
plained the  grounds  of  my  objection,  he  excused  me 
with  a  laugh.  The  lizard  was  immediately  stripped 
of  its  skin,  and  boiled,  and  its  flesh  was  all  that  the 
whole  family  had  for  dinner.  Thus  nature  accom- 
modates the  taste  of  man  to  the  state  in  which  she 
places  him. 

Rivers. 

After  we  have  spoken  of  lakes,  the  order  of  descrip- 
tion naturally  leads  us  to  the  article  of  rivers.  It  is 
an  obvious  conjecture,  that  in  so  mountainous  a  coun- 
try, where  rains  are  so  abundant,  the  waters  must 
have  opened  for  themselves  a  multiplicity  of  channels, 
in  order  to  be  conveyed  into  the  space  assigned  by  the 
Creator,  to  the  third  element.  Every  part  of  Terra 
Firma  which  the  plan  of  my  history  embraces,  is  in- 
deed so  abundant  in  rivers,  that  it  is  difficult  to  find 
any  other  country  equally  blessed  with  the  means  of 
fertilizing  the  soil.  Every  valley  has  its  rivers,  large 
or  small,  and  if  they  have  not  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  water  to  make  them  navigable,  yet  they  have  more 
than  enough  to  afford  a  copious  supply  to  a  hundred 
times  the  number  of  their  present  plantations,  besides 
what  is  necessary  for  other  branches  of  business. 
All  those  which  wind  their  course  from  the  chain 
of  mountains  are  discharged  into  the  sea,  and 
run  from  south  to  north,  whilst  those  which  spring 
from  the  southern  declivity  of  these  same  mountains. 


7* 

traverse,  in  a  southern  direction,  the  whole  extent  of 
the  intermediate  plain,  till  they  augment  with  their  tri- 
butary streams  that  of  the  majestic  Oronoko. 

The  former  are  generally  so  strongly  fenced  in  by 
the  natural  barriers  of  their  banks,  and  so  happily  fa- 
voured in  their  progress  by  the  declivity  of  their  chan- 
nels, as  seldom  to  overflow,  and  when  they  do,  their 
overflowings  are  neither  long  nor  detrimental.  The 
latter,  having  their  courses  through  smoother  grounds, 
and  in  beds  less  profound,  mingle  their  waters  dur- 
ing a  great  part  of  the  year,  and  resemble  rather  a  sea 
than  fivers  that  have  overflowed  their  banks. 

The  reader  surely  does  not  expect  that  I  should 
tire  his  patience  by  entering  into  minute  details  with 
respect  to  every  individual  river :  I  think  I  do  enough 
to  gratify  his  desire,  by  giving  cursory  sketches  with 
respect  to  the  most  considerable  ones,  reserving  for 
the  particular  description  of  Guiana,  whatever  is  to  be 
said  of  the  celebrated  Oronoko,  and  of  those  streams 
which  contribute  to  its  greatness. 

From  Cape  de  la  Vela,  which  forms  the  western 
limits  of  Venezuela,  to  Maracaibo,  there  is  not  one 
river  of  any  consequence.  In  the  description  of  the 
lake  of  Maracaibo,  we  have  seen  that  the  channel  of 
its  communication  with  the  sea  is  filled  by  rivers  that 
water  an  immense  extent  of  country.  We  shall  be 
satisfied  with  what  has  already  been  advanced  upon 
this  subject. 

Guigues. 

At  sixteen  leagues  west  of  Coro,  is  the  river  Gui- 
gnes  ;  it  passes  by  a  village  called  Guigues  de  la 


79 

Yglesia  six  miles  from  its  mouth  ;  it  is  even  naviga- 
ble as  far  as  that  village  for  canoes  and  sloops.  True, 
this  navigation  is  attended  with  no  advantage,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sterility  of  the  soil. 

Tocuyo. 

The  river  Tocuyo  discharges  itself  into  the  sea 
twenty-five  leagues  east  of  that  which  has  been  last 
mentioned.  It  takes  its  source  about  fifteen  leagues 
south  of  Carora,  upwards  of  sixty  leagues  from  the 
sea.  It  is  navigable  as  far  as  Banagua,  a  village 
situated  on  its  banks  at  the  distance  of  forty  leagues 
from  its  mouth.  Its  vicinity  furnishes  abundance  of 
timber,  of  the  largest  size  and  fit  for  every  kind  of 
building.  It  would  likewise  serve  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  a  considerable  quantity  of  produce,  if  the 
indolence  of  the  inhabitants  did  not  neglect  the  culti- 
vation of  lands,  whose  fertility  offers  ample  encour- 
agement to  industry.  The  tract  of  country  through 
which  this  river  flows  is  so  disposed  as  to  make  it 
very  easy  for  the  husbandman  to  avail  himself  of  its 
refreshing  waters.  The  smallest  duct  produces  as 
much  effect  as  the  discharges  of  the  watering  pot 
when  regulated  according  to  the  most  accurate  calcu- 
lation of  hydraulics.  There  are  countries  where 
nature  has  made  admirable  arrangements,  and  where 
art  has  only  to  exert  itself  to  be  able  to  effect  prodi- 
gies, or  by  neglect  of  that  to  render  the  best  arrange- 
ments abortive. 


80 

Aroa. 

"The  mouth  of  the  Aroa  is  ten  leagues  to  windward  of 
that  of  the  Tocuyo.  It  carries  canoes  to  some  distance 
from  the  sea,  but  its  navigation  is  neither  easy  nor  use- 
ful. This  is  not  owing  to  a  shortness  of  course ;  for  it  is 
upwards  of  forty  leagues  long,  taking  its  rise  not  far 
from  Barquisimeto  ;  but  its  vicinity  is  little  cultiva- 
ted and  its  channel  frequently  obstructed. 

Yaracuy. 

By  reascending  along  the  coast,  we  find  at  the  dis- 
tance of  three  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Aroa,  that 
of  the  Yaracuy.  Its  source  is  forty  leaguesto  the  south, 
but  it  begins  only  to  be  of  importance  two  leagues 
cast  of  St.  Philip.  At  that  point  it  becomes  naviga- 
ble, and  convenient  for  the  conveyance  of  the  pro- 
duce raised  in  the  vallies  of  St.  Philip,  and  in  the 
plains  of  Barquisimeto,  which  is  sent  by  sea  to  Porto 
Cabello,  which  is  the  nearest  port. 

Tuy. 
From  the  Yaracuv  there  is  not  one  river  that  can 

tf 

be  called  navigable  till  you  come  to  the  Tuy,  which 
throws  itself  into  the  ocean  thirty  leagues  east  of  the 
port  of  Goayre.  This  river  takes  its  rise  from  the 
mountains  of  San  Pedro,  at  ten  leagues  from  Carac- 
cas.  Its  wraters  flow  into  the  valiies  of  Aragoa, 
between  Victoria  and  Cocuisas  ;  after  that  it  re- 
freshes the  vallies  of  Tacata,  Cua,  Sabana ;  of 
Ocumarc,  St.  Lucia  and  St.  Theresa  ;  and  at  last 
becomes  more  considerable  by  the  junction  of  Goayre. 
By  this  means  it  is  rendered  navigable,  and  serves 


81 

for  the  transportation  of  produce,  in  which  all  these 
valleys  abound,  but  principally  in  cacao,  which  is 
there  of  the  best  quality.  It  is  indisputably,  of  all  the 
rivers  in  the  district  of  the  captain-generalship  of  Ca- 
raccas,  that  which  waters  the  greatest  quantity  of  com- 
mercial productions.  In  1803  the  consulate  of  Carac- 
cas, ordered  a  draught  of  it  to  be  taken  by  D.  Pedro 
Caranza,  a  skilful  pilot,  then  residing  at  Caraccas,  as 
they  had  it  in  contemplation  to  clear  and  repair  its 
bed,  and  to  prevent,  by  such  works  as  their  ingenuity 
could  devise,  all  the  evils,  which  are  occasioned  by 
its  inundations. 

Unara. 

On  leaving  the  Tuy  no  river  to  windward  fixes 
the  attention  of  the  traveller  till  he  reaches  Unara. — 
This  river  serves  for  a  line  of  division  between  the  go- 
vernments of  Caraccas  and  Cumana.  It  is  navigable 
as  far  as  the  village  of  San  Antonia  de  Clarinas  six 
leagues  from  the  sea.  Its  course  extends  to  about 
thirty  leagues  from  south  to  north, 

JVevcri. 

The  Neveri  is  seventeen  leagues  east  of  the  Unara* 
It  takes  its  rise  in  the  mountains  of  Brigantin,  twenty 
leagues  south  of  the  place  where  it  discharges  it- 
self. The  waters  of  the  different  rivers  which  it 
receives  in  its  course,  and  the  declivity  of  the  ground 
which  it  passes  through,  give  it  such  a  body  and  cur- 

VOL.  I.  '  r 


rent  of  water,  us  shipping  cannot  withstand  till  you 
come  to  Barcelona,  or  a  little  above  it. 

Manzanares. 

As  we  pursue  our  way  along  the  coast  to  the  east, 
we  are  stopt  at  ten  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ne- 
veri  by  the  Manzanares,  which  washes  the  city  of  Cu- 
mana  ;  and  it  is  from  this  circumstance  alone  that  it 
deserves  to  be  mentioned,  for  its  navigation  is  of  no 
consequence  at  all,  carrying  but  sloops  from  the  sea  to 
Cumana,  which  is  only  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of 
a  league.  Yet  by  its  refreshing  stream  it  fertilizes 
lands  otherwise  ungrateful,  and  by  this  means  is  ena- 
bled to  yield  fruits  and  vegetables  in  abundance,  be- 
sides  some  other  articles  of  produce. 

Cariaco. 

After  Cumana  comes  the  gulf  of  Cariaco,  which  is 
joined  by  several  streams  and  a  river  of  the  same 
name,  from  which  culture  derives  considerable  advan- 
tages. It  passes  by  a  city,  to  which  they  vainly 
wished  to  give  the  name  of  St.  Philippe  d'Autriche. 
Regardless  of  the  government,  it  took  and  retained 
the  name  of  the  gulf  that  is  at  the  distance  of  two 
leagues  from  it.  It  is  only  to  this  city  that  the  river 
is  navigable,  and  not  always  even  so  far  ;  for,  as  it  re- 
ceives a  considerable  quantity  of  rain  water,  it  wants 
water  \\  lien  it  is  dry  weather ;  and  it  is  subject  in  rainy 
weather  to  inundations  which  are  very  inconvenient 
to  the  city.  It  is  the  tradition  of  the  Guayqueris  Indians 


83 

that  the  gulf  of  Cariaco  was  formed  by  an  earthquake. 
(See  the  article  Cumana  in  the  chapter  of  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  cities.) 

Over  all  the  northern  coast  as  far  as  the  Cape  of  Paria, 
which,  with  the  Isles  of  the  Dragons,  forms  the  great 
entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  there  exists  not  a  single 
navigable  river.  Into  the  Gulf  several  are  discharg- 
ed ;  the  most  considerable  of  which  is  the  Guara- 
piche,  which  springs  from  the  eastern  declivity  of 
Mount  Brigantin.  It  swells  with  the  waters  of  nu- 
merous streams,  which  deserve  the  name  of  rivers ;  so 
that,  at  its  entrance  into  the  Gulf,  it  has  the  majestic 
appearance  of  a  river  of  the  lirst  rank.  Vessels  of 
ordinary  size  ascend  on  its  tides  as  far  as  the  Fork 
of  Fantarma.  They  are  prevented  from  advancing 
farther,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of 
its  waters,  as  the  embarrassments  which  its  navigation 
suffers  from  the  mangroves  and  the  trees,  which  are 
cast  into  it  by  the  winds,  or  deposited  by  the  currents. 
These  obstacles  would  quickly  disappear,  if  the  coun- 
try produced  commodities  for  exportation  ;  but  this 
land,  so  abundantly  rich  in  the  secret  treasures  of  fer- 
tility, is  not  cultivated,  because,  to  man  in  a  state  of 
nature,  the  greatest  luxury  is  the  wild  fruits  of  the 
forest. 

All  those  rivers,  joined  by  the  waters  of  an  infinite 
number  of  others,  do  not  make  even  the  twentieth 
part  of  those  which  proceed  directly  to  the  sea,  and 
water  only  what  may  be  called  the  high  or  northern 
part  of  the  provinces  of  Venezuela  and  Cumana, 
The  low  or  southern  part  of  Venezuela  is  intersected 
by  rivers,  which  flow  from  north  to  south,  till  thev 


84 

discharge  themselves  into  the  great  Oronoko.  The 
most  considerable  are  the  Mumo,  the  Pariagoan  and 
Pao,  the  Chivata  and  Zoa,  the  Cachimamo,  the 
Aracay,  the  Manapira  and  Espino,  together  with 
the  Apura,  which  enters  the  Oronoko  by  several 
channels  ;  it  receives  into  its  waters  those  of  an  in- 
finite ntimber  of  rivers,  which  altogether  forming,  as 
it  were,  the  figure  of  a  fan,  occupy  a  space  of  up- 
wards of  thirty  leagues  south  of  the  province  of  Vene- 
zuela. The  greatest  part  of  these  last  rivers  are  navi- 
gable forty  or  fifty  leagues  from  the  place,  where  they 
together  with  the  Apura,  throw  themselves  into  the 
Oronoko.  This  statement  alone  is  sufficient  to  en- 
able us  to  anticipate  the  prospect  of  that  distinguished 
prosperity  which  nature  destines  for  Guiana,  f  See 
the  Chapter  upon  Spanish  Guiana.}  After  treating 
of  the  rivers,  historical  order  naturally  leads  us  to  the 
sea  ports  of  the  provinces  I  have  undertaken  to  de- 
scribe. 


The  sea  which  washes  these  coasts,  is  by  the  Eng.. 
lish  called  the  Caribbean  sea,  because  in  fact  the 
chain  of  the  Antilles,  from  Trinidad  to  Cuba  and 
Terra  Firma  form  an  area  bounded  solely  by  the 
countries  anciently  occupied  by  the  Caribbees.  We 
know  not  why  all  the  other  European  nations  have 
not  adopted  that  denomination,  in  order  to  designate 
a  part  of  the  globe  which  is  generally  known  by 
the  vague  appellation  of  the  Northern  Sen,  Have 


85 

we  not  given  to  this  same  sea  different  names  ao 
cording  to  the  different  countries  which  it  washes. 
Do  we  not  say  the  Adriatic  Sea,  the  Candian  Sea, 
the  Scotch  or  Caledonian  Sea,  the  Irish  Sea,  the 
Cimbric  Sea,  &cc.  ?  \\  hy,  then,  in  order  the  bet- 
ter to  designate  the  part  of  which  we  speak,  do  we 
not  say,  the  Caribbean  Sea  ? 

Tides. 

Over  all  the  northern  coast  from  Cape  de  la  Vela 
to  Cape  Paria,  the  tides  are  so  irregular  and  imper- 
ceptible as  to  be  entirely  overlooked  in  the  reckonings 
and  calculations  of  the  navigator ;  whilst  on  all  the 
eastern  coast  from  the  last  mentioned  cape  to  Dutch 
Guiana  they  are  so  powerful  as  to  command  rigid  ob- 
servance from  the  ships,  which  frequent  those  lati- 
tudes. It  is  evident  that  the  bearings  of  the  coasts 
are  the  only  cause  of  that  singularity. 

Winds. 

The  winds  are  much  more  regular  on  the  coasts, 
where  nothing  deranges  their  natural  direction,  than 
in  the  inland  parts,  where  they  are  subjected  to  local 
influence.  The  common  breeze  on  the  coasts  is  the 
same  which  prevails  at  sea  between  the  tropics, 
known  under  the  name  of  trade-winds.  They  blow 
from  N.  E.  by  E.  There  is,  however,  this  difference, 
that  at  sea  these  winds  are  constant,  whereas  upon 
the  coasts,  they  only  blow  from  nine  or  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  till  the  evening.  They  are  succeeded 


every  night  by  an  opposite  wind,  which  is  called  the 
land  breeze.  This  periodical  succession  is  general, 
but  not  without  exceptions. 

Worms  or  Tarets. 

All  the  sea-ports  of  which  I  have  spoken,  are 
infested  with  that  species  of  worms,  called  Tarets, 
which  are  said  to  have  been  brought  from  the  An- 
tilles into  Europe.  It  is  true,  they  are  so  abundant 
there,  that  there  is  no  road,  nor  river,  which  receives 
the  salt-water,  but  swarms  with  them.  A  ship, 
not  secured  by  being  copper-bottomed,  cannot  re- 
main for  any  considerable  time  in  any  of  those  ports, 
without  being  injured  by  these  worms,  and  even  ren- 
dered unfit  for  service.  Such  as  remain  in  port  must 
be  well  graved  once  in  every  three  or  four  months, 
otherwise  they  must  perish  upon  the  hands  of  the 
owners. 

Surge. 

Another  inconvenience  common  to  all  the  ports  of 
the  province  of  Caraccas  is,  that  they  are  continually 
exposed  to  rolling  seas,  to  those  monstrous  billows, 
which,  though  they  by  no  means  appear  to  be  occa- 
sioned by  the  winds,  yet  are  not  upon  that  account 
the  less  inconvenient,  nor,  frequently,  the  less  dan- 
gerous. The  road  of  Porto- Cabello  is  the  only  place 
which  affords  a  safe  and  quiet  retreat  to  the  navy, 
where  vessels  can  He  quietly  and  the  mariners  are 
free  from  care. 


87 
Ports. 

Let  us  now  take  a  particular  view  of  every  port,  in 
the  same  order  in  which  we  have  described  the  navi- 
gable rivers. 

Porteta  and  Bayahonda. 

Six  leagues  east  of  Cape  de  la  Vela,  is  a  port  call- 
ed Porteta,  which  admits  small  vessels  only;  but  four 
leagues  farther  to  the  windward  is  that  of  Bayahonda, 
where  vessels  of  the  largest  size  can  enter  and  anchor, 
without  being  exposed  to  the  smallest  danger  from 
the  winds  ;  the  anchorage  in  these  two  ports  is  excel- 
lent, but  being  in  possession  of  the  Indians,  they  arc 
of  no  advantage  to  the  Spaniards.  Here  let  me  ob- 
serve, by  the  bye,  that  these  Indians  are  employed  in 
the  pearl-fishery  in  the  road  cf  Bayahonda,  from 
which  they  derive  the  only  article  they  have  to  bar- 
ter with  the  Dutch  and  English. 

Maracaibo. 

The  first  port  we  meet,  as  we  proceed  along  the 
coast  to  the  eastward,  is  that  of  Maracaibo.  A  bar 
of  quicksand,  which  is  but  ten  or  twelve  feet  under 
water,  entirely  excludes  large  vessels,  and  with  diffi- 
culty admits  small  ones ;  he  must  be  well  acquainted 
with  his  business,  and  extremely  attentive  to  his  du- 
ty, who  attempts  to  enter  this  port  without  a  pilot. 
As  soon  as  he  clears  the  bar,  he  has  plenty  of  water, 
and  a  good  harbour. 


.     88 

Coro. 

As  you  travel  farther  to  the  cast,  you  only  meet 
with  landing  places  at  different  distances  from  one 
another,  till  you  come  to  Coro,  whose  port  lies  open 
from  north  to  north-east.  One  may  anchor  as  far  in 
as  he  chuses,  because  the  water  continues  to  deepen, 
in  proportion  as  he  approaches  the  shore.  Neither 
its  accommodations,  nor  commodities  make  it  a  port 
of  great  resort. 

Porto-Cabello. 

Between  Coro  and  Porto-Cabelio,  there  are  none 
that  deserve  the  name  of  ports.  But  we  are  now 
come  to  the  best,  not  only  on  this  coast,  but  in  all 
America.  The  bay  of  Porto-Cabello  is  spacious, 
handsome,  commodious,  and  safe.  It  is  capable  of 
affording  anchorage  to  the  whole  of  the  Spanish  navy. 
It  is  defended  against  the  fury  of  the  winds,  from 
whatever  quarter  they  blow.  The  land  which  en- 
compasses it  on  the  south,  east,  and  west,  is  so  hap- 
pily disposed  by  nature,  as  to  baffle  the  impetuosity 
of  the  north-east  wind,  which  is  so  common  there. 
So  little  does  thisbay  partake  of  those  agitations  which 
continually  prevail  with  more  or  less  violence,  in  the 
tropical  seas  that  it  resembles  a  pond  more  than  port. 
The  name  given  k  by  the  Spaniards  is  expressive  of 
the  advantages,  which  it  so  eminently  enjoys,  import- 
ing that  in  ihe  harbour  of  Porto-Cabello,  a  vessel  al 
anchor  is  more  effectually  secured  by  a  simple  rope, 
than  elsewhere  bv  the  strongest  cables.  The  surge, 

»  O 


89 

which  is  no  where  more  common,  never  disturbs  the 
placid  composure.of  the  road.  Its  anchorage,  which 
owes  nothing  to  art,  is  so  commodious,  that  the 
largest  ships  may  lay  alongside  of  the  wharf,  load  and 
unload  without  the  assistance  of  lighters.  The  men 
of  war  have  no  other  communication  with  the  land, 
than  by  a  flying  bridge  three  or  four  toises  long. 

Turiamo,  Patanemo,  Borburata  and  Sienega. 

Three  leagues  to  the  windward  of  Porto- Cabello,* 
is  the  Bay  of  Turiamo,  which  extends  one  league 
from  north  to  south.  Scarcely  any  shipping  resort  to 
it,  because  it  has  no  shelter  from  the  north  wind,  and 
because  the  country  around  it  does  not  afford  enough 
of  commodities  to  induce  merchants  to  subject  navi- 
gation to  those  inconveniences  to  which  it  is  liable  in 
a  port  of  this  description.  What  has  been  said  of  the 
bay  of  Turiamo,  is  equally  applicable  to  those  of  Pa- 
tanemo,  Borburata,  and  Sienega.  The  whole  po- 
pulation of  each  of  these  bays  consists  of  no  more 
than  a  small  party  of  soldiers,  stationed  there  to  pre- 
vent smuggling. 

Ocumara. 

The  bay  of  Ocumara,  five  leagues  east  of  Porto- 
Cabello  is  a  very  good  port,  very  well  sheltered  from 
the  breeze,  and  from  the  north.  Its  moorings  are 
excellent.  The  port  is  defended  on  the  east,  by  a 
battery  mounting  eight  pieces  of  cannon  of  the  cali- 
ber of  8  or  12.  The  village  of  Ocumara  is  at  the  dis- 

*  Better  known  by  the  name  of  Porto-Bello. 

VOL.  I.  Q 


90 

tance  of  one  league  from  the  port.  It  is  watered  by 
a  river  of  the  same  name,  which,  after  fertilizing  its 
vallies,  discharges  itself  into  the  same  bay  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  fort. 

Between  the  bay  of  Ocumara  and  that  of  LaGuira, 
are  several  small  ports,  where  the  inhabitants  of  that 
coast  ship  their  commodities  for  La  Guira  or  Porto- 
Cabello ;  but  none  of  those  ports  are  of  sufficient  im- 
portance, to  entitle  them  to  a  particular  place  in  this 
description. 

La  Guira. 

The  port  of  La  Guira  is  more  frequented  than  any 
other  upon  the  coast,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  least 
deserving  of  such  a  preference.  Its  road  is  always  so 
open  to  the  breeze,  that  the  sea  there  is  kept  in  a 
state  of  continual  agitation,  and  the  violence  of  the 
winds  frequently  occasions  damage  to  the  ships  which 
ride  at  anchor.  The  surge  is  very  prevalent  here, 
which,  joined  with  the  winds,  contributes  greatly  to 
augment  the  inconveniences  of  this  port.  The  depth 
of  water  does  not  exceed  eight  fathoms  at  the  distance 
of  one  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  beach.  The  con- 
tinual agitation  of  this  road  renders  loading  and  un- 
loading tedious,  expensive,  and  difficult ;  sometimes 
even  impossible.  But  that  is  not  the  only  objection 
which  can  be  made  to  it ;  the  surge  acts  with  the 
same  violence  at  the  bottom,  as  on  the  surface  of 
the  water  ;  by  which  agitation  the  sand  being  stirred 
up  and  raised  from  the  bottom  is  carried  along  by  the 
current,  and  deposited  upon  the  anchors,  till  they  arc 


91 

in  a  short  time  so  deeply  buried  under  it,  that  before 
the  expiration  of  a  month,  it  is  impossible  to  hoist 
them;  they  either  break  their  cables,  or  are  under 
the  necessity  of  cutting  them.  To  avoid  the  certain 
loss  which  would  thus  be  incurred,  every  vessel  is 
obliged  to  hoist  anchor  once  every  eight  days.  All 
that  is  necessary  to  be  added  to  the  sketch  I  have  al- 
ready given  of  this  place,  is  that  the  worms  commit 
greater  ravages  in  the  port  of  La  Guira  than  in  any 
other. 

Caravalleda. 

From  this  wretched  port,  where  we  have  very  lit- 
tle inducement  to  tarry  long,  I  would  willingly  repair 
to  the  first  port  on  the  coast,  which  would  furnish 
materials  for  description,  if  I  did  not  meet  in  my 
way  at  the  distance  of  one  league  east  of  La  Guira, 
the  site  upon  which  formerly  stood  the  city  of  Ca- 
ravalleda. 

The  cause  of  its  depopulation  reflects  so  much 
honour  on  its  first  inhabitants,  that  it  must  be  consi- 
dered as  a  high  breach  of  duty  in  the  historian  to  ne- 
glect transmitting  the  knowledge  of  it  to  posterity. 
The  city  of  Caravalleda  was  founded  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1568,  by  Diego  Losada,  the  same  who 
founded  the  city  of  Caraccas.  Caravalleda  was  built 
on  the  same  spot  where  Francis  Faxardo  Losada 
gave  to  Caravalleda  a  cabildo,  as  was  then  allowed  to 
all  the  cities  which  were  founded.  The  inhabitants 
had  the  right  of  electing  their  own  alcaides,  annually, 
through  the  intervention  of  the  regidors.  It  was  a 


92 

precious  privilege  which  the  king  preserved  and  still 
preserves  for  his  people.  The  city  of  Caravalleda 
peaceably  exercised  this  sacred  right,  till  in  1586,  it 
pleased  the  governor  of  the  province,  Louis  de  Roxas, 
by  his  own  private  authority,  to  prohibit  the  inhabi- 
tants from  appointing  the  alcaides  for  the  ensuing 
year,  because  he  would  undertake  to  appoint  them 
himself.  Remonstrances  were  made,  to  which  no  at- 
tention was  paid.  That,  however,  did  not  prevent 
the  people,  when  the  usual  period  of  the  elections  ar- 
rived, from  proceeding,  according  to  custom,  to  the 
choice  of  the  alcaides.  Those  whom  the  governor 
had  appointed,  presented  themselves,  but  were  not 
received.  The  abuse  of  power  had  so  incensed  these 
men,  justly  jealous  of  their  privileges,  that  they  re- 
solved to  support  them  at  every  risk.  The  governor, 
on  the  other  hand,  whom  this  energy  had  violently 
exasperated,  to  the  former  injustice  added  another 
still  more  grievous ;  for  he  had  the  temerity  to  order 
the  four  regidors  to  be  arrested,  and  cast  them  into 
dungeons  for  having  faithfully  discharged  the  duties 
of  their  offices. 

The  inhabitants  of  Caravalleda  regarded  this  injury 
as  done  to  themselves  individually.  They  unanimous- 
ly adopted  the  laudable  resolution  of  abandoning  a  city 
where  the  law  had  suffered  so  unwarrantable  an  out- 
rage; they  all  retired  to  Valencia  and  Caraccas. — 
The  city  which  they  deserted  became  the  haunt  of 
reptiles  and  ravenous  birds. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  king,  conformably  to  the  sys- 
tem which  the  government  has  adopted  for  repress- 
ing violations  of  the  laws,  censured  the  conduct  of  the 


93 

governor,  and  inflicted  such  penalties  upon  him,  as 
appeared  sufficient  to  deter  his  successors  from  aim- 
ing any  new  blow  at  the  rights  of  the  king's  vassals. 
The  regidors  were  released  from  confinement,  and 
obtained  all  the  satisfaction  that  could  be  reasonably 
expected.  The  inhabitants  of  Caravalleda  were  in- 
vited to  repair  to  their  habitations.  None  of  them 
thought  proper  to  comply.  They  replied  that  they 
never  would  live  in  a  country,  which  would  be 
continually  reminding  them  of  the  offence  which 
they  had  received.  Despairing  of  being  able  to  re- 
people  Caravalleda,  they  made  La  Guira  a  port  of 
entry  and  clearance  for  that  part  of  the  province. 

Wise  and  resolute  men,  who  have  discovered  your 
sensibility,  without  having  recourse  to  those  extremes 
which  would  have  dishonoured  your  cause,  let  your 
precious  ashes  receive  the  homage  of  one  of  your  sin- 
cerest  admirers !  Your  silent  retreat  from  a  place  con- 
taminated by  the  exercise  of  illegitimate  authority, 
has  given  a  check  to  usurpation.  May  your  memo- 
rable conduct  be  for  ever  impressed  on  the  hearts  of 
all  men,  so  as  to  challenge  the  admiration  of  those 
who  rule,  and  the  imitation  of  those  who  are  destined 
to  obey. 

Port  Francis. 

Between  La  Guira  and  Cape  Codera,  separated  by 
the  space  of  twenty-five  leagues,  are  found  seventeen 
rivers,  which,  at  equal  distances,  throw  themselves 
injo  the  sea.  Upon  their  respective  banks  is  a  great 
number  of  cacao  and  sugar  plantations.  Before  we 


94 

come  to  Cape  Codera,  we  meet  with  a  port  tolerably 
good  for  Small  craft ;  its  name  is  Port  Francis.  As 
the  reasons  assigned  for  this  name  do  not  to  me  ap- 
pear plausible,  I  rather  forbear  specifying  them,  than 
risk  giving  publicity  to  such  as  may  not  be  au- 
thentic. From  this  port  the  neighbouring  inhabitants 
ship  their  commodities ;  and  indeed  it  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  calculated  for  any  other  use. 

From  Cape  Codera,  the  coast  runs  to  the  south- 
east. At  the  distance  of  three  leagues  is  the  small 
port  of  Higuerota,  which  is  nothing  superior  to  Port 
Francis.  Like  it,  it  is  used  only  for  shipping  the  com- 
modities of  the  neighbouring  plantations. 

Bay  or  Lake  of  Tacarigua. 

From  Higuerota  to  the  river  Paparo,  a  branch  of 
the  Tuy,  the  distance  is  three  leagues ;  the  same  is 
the  distance  from  that  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tuy, 
which  is  no  more  than  a  league  and  a  half  from  Lake 
Tacarigua.  This  lake  must  not  be  confounded  with 
that  of  Valencia,  to  which  the  Indians  give  the  same 
name.  The  form  of  the  lake  exactly  resembles  that 
of  a  bay,  and  would  certainly  have  obtained  that  name, 
but  for  a  bar  of  quick-sand,  which  frequently  cuts  oft 
its  communication  with  the  sea.  Its  form  is  circular. 
It  measures  about  seven  leagues  from  the  sea  on  the 
north-cast,  to  its  deepest  recess  on  the  south-east.  It 
abounds  in  all  kinds  of  sea-fish.  It  is  particularly  re- 
markable' lor  the  great  number  of  alligators  which 
arc  seen  in  it.  For  twenty-eight  leagues  on  the  coast 
(o  the  eastward,  a  great  variety  of  rivers  appear, 


95 

whose  streams  in  the  rainy  season  swell  into  torrents, 
but  in  the  hot  season  most  of  them  become  extremely 
shallow,  whilst  the  channels  of  others  are  entirely  dried 

up. 

^ 

Barcelona.  4  * 

y>* 

4 

The  first  port  after  that  is  Barcelona,  watered  by 

the  Neveri.  On  re-ascending  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river  about  four  miles  from  its  mouth,  an  emi- 
nence which  bears  the  name  of  the  city,  we  observe 
a  fort  erected  for  the  protection  of  vessels,  which  an- 
chor not  far  from  it  in  a  bay  so  shallow  as  not  to  be 
capable  of  admitting  vessels  of  considerable  size. — 
This  port,  if  it  may  be  called  so,  affords  no  shelter 
bat  against  the  breeze ;  but  at  the  distance  of  one 
league  to  the  north,  the  island  of  Borracha,  inhabited 
by  fishermen,  presents,  on  its  south  side,  a  safe  har- 
bour for  ships  of  the  largest  size. 

From  the  hill  of  Barcelona,  the  coast  runs  to  the 
north-east  as  far  as  Cumana,  which  is  at  the  distance 
of  two  leagues.  That  space  is  filled  with  a  chain  of 
islands,  not  far  removed  from  the  coast.  Some  of 
these  are  provided  with  bays  and  ports,  but  they  are 
of  no  great  consequence. 

Cumana. 

Cumana  stands  about  one  third  of  a  league  from 
the  beach.  Since  the  city  has  been  extended  on  the 
western  bank,  the  Manzanares  bisects  it.  But, 
as  has  been  already  observed,  it  is  so  shallow  as 


to  be  navigable  only  for  small  craft.  Merchant- 
men anchor  on  what  the  Spaniards  call  the  pla- 
cer, which  means  a  sand-bank  under  water.  This 
anchoring,  suitable  for  vessels  of  all  descriptions, 
lies  west  from  the  river  and  directly  opposite  to  a 
stream  called  Bordones,  about  the  distance  of  one 
league  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  From  this  de- 
scription of  the  place,  it  will  readily  occur  to  the  rea- 
der, that  recourse  must  be  had  to  lighters  for  loading 
and  unloading.  This  port  has  the  advantage  of  be- 
ing well  sheltered  against  the  inclemency  of  the  wea- 
ther. 

The  GulfofCariaco- 

As  we  proceed  to  the  east  of  Cumana,  the  first  object 
which  attracts  our  attention  is  the  gulf  of  Cariaco, 
formed  by  a  part  of  the  coast  of  Cumana,  the  point  of 
Araya,  and  the  Barrigon.  It  extends  ten  leagues  from 
east  to  west,  and  is  three,  in  some  places  four  leagues, 
broad.  Its  depth,  at  the  middle  of  the  gulf,  is  from  80 
to  100  fathoms.  Its  waters  are  as  placid  as  those  of 
a  lake ;  the  reason  is,  that  it  is  protected  by  the 
mountains  which  surround  it,  from  all  other  winds, 
except  the  breeze,  but  to  that  it  is  left  entirely  expos- 
ed, and  consequently  must  experience  an  agitation  of 
its  waters  proportioned  to  the  strength  of  the  breeze. 
In  this  gulf  there  are  three  places  very  convenient 
for  loading,  namely,  the  lake  of  Eveco,  the  Gurintar 
and  Juanantar. 


97 
/  Point  ofAraya. 

The  point  of  Araya,  lying  east  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  is  dangerous  for  two  reasons ;  because  it 
is  low,  and  because  it  has,  on  the  north-east,  almost 
on  a  level  with  the  surface,  a  sand-bank  which 
advances  two  leagues  into  the  sea.  Yet  to  this  point, 
the  attention  of  those  who  arrive  from  Europe,  must 
be  directed,  if  they  wish  to  make  an  easy  entrance  to 
the  port  of  Cumana.  For  that  purpose  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  bear  off  from  the  north-east  and  south- 
west,  till  they  have  doubled  the  point ;  then  they 
may  coast  it  along  the  land  for  half  a  league. 

Straits  of  Margaretta. 

From  this  point  to  that  of  Chacopata  are  some 
small  bays  and  petty  ports.  In  the  same  space,  to- 
wards the  north,  are  the  islands  of  Coche,  Cubagua 
and  Margaretta.  The  great  number  of  shoals  that  are 
here  to  be  encountered,  render  the  navigation  of  this 
passage  extremely  difficult,  especially  as  the  channel 
is  very  narrow,  although  sufficiently  deep.  He 
ought  to  be  a  very  expert  seaman  who  ventures  to 
pass  it  without  assistance.  The  custom,  in  general,  is 
to  engage  a  pilot  at  the  port  of  Pampata  of  Marga- 
retta to  undertake  the  responsibility  of  the  naviga- 
tion. 

Turning  towards  the  east,  we  see  some  ports  of 
inferior  note,  which  are  known  only  as  convenient 
places  for  shipping  commodities,  or  for  the  encour- 
agement they  afford  to  smuggling. 

VOL.  I.  R  *" 


98 

Cariaco  is  the  only  one  that  might  be  frequented  b} 
large  vessels,  but  the  want  of  population,  and  the 
consequent  scarcity  of  territorial  productions,  renders 
it  absolutely  useless. 

Gulf  of  Par  la. 

Continuing  our  route  to  the  cast,  we  arrive  at  the 
Gulf  which  the  Spaniards  call  Triste,  but  which  I, 
joined  by  the  French,  shall  call  Paria,  believing  my- 
self the  more  justifiable  in  so  doing,  as  the  whole 
coast  of  Terra  Firma,  which  surrounds  that  Gulf,  is 
called  Paria  :  Besides,  what  the  French  and  English 
geographers  understand  by  the  Gulf  Triste  is  that 
extent  of  sea  which  lies  between  Point  Hicacos  and 
Cape  Codera,  which  is  almost  of  the  same  magnitude 
and  form  as  the  gulf  of  Gascony.  It  is  much  to  be 
regretted  that  geographers  have  not,  by  the  consent 
of  all  nations,  established  an  uniformity  in  the  names 
of  every  part  of  the  globe.  For  the  want  of  such  a 
standard  of  geographical  nomenclature,  a  French- 
man who  speaks  of  the  gulf  of  Paria  to  a  Spaniard,  is 
not  understood  ;  a  Spaniard,  who  speaks  to  a  French- 
man or  Englishman,  labours  under  the  same  disad- 
vantage ;  and  yet  they  both  speak  of  the  same  gulf. 

The  gulf  of  Paria  has  Terra  Firma  on  the  west  and 
Trinidad  on  the  east.  From  these  two  lands,  on  the 
north,  two  points  jut  out,  between  which  are  two 
islands  lying,  with  regard  to  these  two  points,  pretty 
nearly  east  and  west,  so  as  to  close  the  gulf  on  the 
north,  leaving,  however,  a  sufficient  space  between 
them  to  form  four  openings,  called  the  mouths  of  the 


99 

Dragon,  by  which  it  discharges  the  superfluous  waters. 
The  largest,  being  two  leagues  broad,  is  that  on  the 
west  between  Point  Paria  of  Terra  Firma  and  the 
island  of  Chacachacares  ;  on  the  west  it  is  intersper- 
sed with  rocks ;  but  as  they  are  all  visible,  and  may 
be  approached  without  danger,  the  navigator  can 
easily  keep  clear  of  them.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
a  rock,  which  just  emerges  from  the  surface  at  two 
cables  length  from  the  island  of  Chacachacares ;  its 
approach  would  be  attended  with  some  risk.  Between 
the  last  island  and  that  of  Navios  is  a  second  mouth 
smaller  than  the  first,  called  the  Vessels.  Its  chan- 
nel lying  from  N.  to  S.  E.  renders  it  very  good  for 
the  going  out.  but  very  bad  for  the  entrance  of  ships. 
The  third  is  formed  by  the  isle  of  Navios  on  the  W. 
and  that  of  Monas  on  the  E.  It  is  called  the  mouth 
of  Huevos  (  Egg's -Mouth  J.  Its  direction  is  from  N. 
N.  E.  to  S.  S.  E.  It  is  much  more  convenient  to  enter 
than  to  go  out.  The  fourth  is  between  that  island  and 
the  point  that  is  most  to  the  W.  S.  W,  of  the  island 
of  Trinidad.  It  is  called  the  mouth  de  Los  Monos, 
f  Monkey's  Mouth  J  without  doubt,  because  it  is  nar- 
rower, and  more  difficult,  on  account  of  a  rock  in  the 
middle  of  it,  which,  from  its  position,  occasions  a  con- 
tinual commotion,  at  the  same  time  that  the  land  of 
Trinidad,  by  excluding  the  winds,  preserves  a  calm, 
which  is  but  rarely  interrupted  by  momentary  gusts. 
The  passage  for  small  craft  lies  between  the  island  of 
Trinidad  and  the  rock. 

This  gulf  is  twenty-five  leagues  from  east  to  west, 
and  fifteen  from  north  to  south  ;  there  is  anchorage 
in  all  that  extent,  but  its  depth  varies  from  eight  to 


100 

thirty  fathoms.  Upon  the  coast  of  Paria  its  sound- 
ings are  much  less.  In  fact,  this  gulf  is  a  real  port, 
which,  for  excellence  and  extent,  vies  with  the  hand- 
somest in  the  world.  It  has  a  muddy  bottom  except 
near  the  coast  of  Terra  Firma,  where  there  are  shoals 
and  banks  of  sand. 

Some  authors,  not  very  reputable  for  their  accu- 
racy, have  asserted  that  the  waters  of  this  gulf  are 
fresh.  I  attest  that  they  are  as  salt  as  those  of  the 
sea.  It  receives,  on  the  S.  S.  VV.  a  considerable 
volume  of  water  by  different  mouths  of  the  Oronoko, 
which  enters  it  with  a  velocity  that  very  much  in- 
commodes the  vessels  which  steer  that  way  upon  their 
passage.  There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  a  part 
of  those  waters  of  the  Oronoko  have  in  the  progress  of 
ages,  detached  from  Terra  Firma  what  is  at  present 
called  Trinidad,  and  that  their  ravages  will  not  cease, 
till  they  have  opened  the  mouths  of  the  Dragon  and 
thrown  themselves  into  the  ocean.  Indeed,  the  currents 
are  always  carried  to  the  sea  by  the  channels  of  these 
mouths.  It  is  therefore  impossible  to  enter,  particular- 
ly by  the  small  ones,  unless  highly  favoured  by  the 
winds. 

It  is  at  least  as  difficult  to  enter  the  gulf  on  the  south 
as  it  is  on  the  north.  The  wind  must  be  from  the 
south-east,  to  be  able  to  enter  with  any  certain  pros- 
pect of  safety ;  then  they  must  coast  it  to  the  south  of 
the  island  of  Trinidad  as  far  as  point  Hicacos,  which 
they  must  approach  within  two  cables'  length,  in  or- 
der to  pass  between  that  point  and  a  shoal,  which  is 
in  the  middle  of  the  channel  formed  by  the  small 
island  of  Soldado  and  the  same  point.  After  ad- 


101 

vancing  two-thirds  of  a  league  to  the  north,  they 
may  approach  within  one  league  of  the  coast  to 
the  west  of  Trinidad,  till  they  come  to  anchorage  in 
the  port  of  Spain.  For  there  is  mooring  there  to  the 
distance  of  two  leagues  from  the  coast  with  water  from 
five  to  eighteen  fathoms  deep. 

There  are  several  ports  and  roads  along  the  coast 
of  Paria  which  greatly  facilitate  the  communication 
with  Trinidad.  That  advantage  is  at  present  exclu- 
sively in  favour  of  the  English,  who  are  the  posses- 
sors of  that  island. 

The  tide  is  not  only  perceptible,  but  even  formi- 
dable in  the  gulf  of  Paria,  where  it  discovers  a  violence 
not  to  be  conceived  by  those  who  are  not  well  ac- 
quainted \viththe  great  ebbings  and  Sowings  of  the 
sea. 


CHAP.  III. 

POPULATION,  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

\Vantofan  exact  census — Census  made  annually  by  the  curates — Divi- 
sion of  the  population — Difficulties  which  the  Spaniards  experience 
in  going  to  America — Those  which  foreigners  experience  are  still 
greater — Mortifications  which  foreigners  incur,  who  settle  hi  the 
Spanish  possessions — Hardly  any  emigration  from  Spain  to  Terra  Fir- 
ma — Attachment  of  the  Creoles  to  their  country — Public  education — 
Aptitude  of  the  Creoles  for  science — Reform  in  their  costume — Ha- 
bit of  the  afternoon  nap — Marriages — The  Spaniards  marry  very 
young — The  power  of  the  parents  over  their  children  is  less  than  in 
other  countries — Happy  reform — Causes  of  unhappy  marriuges — Ap- 
parent submission  of  the  children  to  the  parents — Etiquettes — Their 
bad  effects — The  Spaniards  are  religious — Extremely  prudent  in  their 
undertakings — Conspiracy  of  Venezuela — Causes — Formed  by  three 
state-prisoners — Its  discovery — Measures  of  government — Honoura- 
ble act  of  Charles  IV. — Prosecution  by  the  tribunals — Reflections  on 
that  conspiracy — Slaves — The  Spaniards  do  not  carry  on  the  slave- 
trade — Number  of  slaves — How  they  are  treated — Every  thing  is 
done  to  make  them  good  Christians — Carelessness  of  the  masters  with 
respect  to  the  wants  of  the  slaves — Reforms  contemplated — Ad- 
vantages which  the  laws  ofl'er  to  slaves — Freed-men — Their  number — 
Restrictions  imposed  on  their  freedom — Causes  of  these  restrictions 
— The  freed-men  can  hold  no  public  office — The  law  subjects  them 
to  an  impost,  which  they  do  not  pay — Sumptuary  laws  \\ith  respect 
to  freed-men — Case,  where  the  freed -man  forfeits  his  freedom — -The 
king  gives  dispensations  for  colour — Marriages  between  white  per- 
sons and  those  of  colour — Some  are  yet  to  be  seen  amongst  men  of 
colour  and  whites — That  is  owing  to  the  horrid  practice  of  exposing 
illegitimate  children — The  necessity  of  an  hospital  for  foundlings— 
Freed-men  are  allowed  to  practise  physic. 


IFant  of  an  exact  Census. 


AFTER  the  most  diligent  researches,  I  have  not 
been  nble  to  procure  a  correct  statement  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  provinces  dependent  on  the  captain-gene- 
ralship of  Caraccas.  In  the  archives  of  government 
no  papers  arc  deposited  by  which  it  appears  that  any 
ccnsus  has  ever  been  taken  of  the  inhabitants  of  a 
countrv  subject  to  its  authoritv.  The  registers  of  the 

•  fJ  » 

intendancy  are  also,  altogether  unprovided  with  those 
documents,  which  in  all  political  establishments  arc 
most  carefully  preserved,  as  the  most  essential  pro- 
vhionto  f<rm  the  basis  of  an  enlio-htened  admimstra- 


.103 

tion.  It  was  not  till  I  had  sacrificed  much  time,  and 
labour,  that  I  discovered  that  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority performed  in  favour  of  religion,  what  the  ci- 
vil authority  had  neglected  in  favour  of  political  eco- 
nomy. The  active  interference  of  a  friend,  whose 
name  it  h  painful  for  me  to  be  under  an  obligation  to 
conceal,  speedily  procured  for  me,  from  the  official 
records  of  the  bishop,  statements  of  the  population  of 
Caraccas,  for  the  years  1800  ,and  1801,  particularly 
specifying  that  of  cities,  towns,  and  villages.  But 
the  opportunity  which  I  have  had  of  observing  by 
what  process  these  statements  were  acquired,  left 
an  impression  on  my  mind,  which  did  not  permit 
me  for  a  moment  to  hesitate  what  degree  of  credit 
I  ought  to  attach  to  their  accuracy.  Their  nature 
and  object  will  be  discerned  from  the  particulars 
which  are  here  subjoined. 

Census  taken  annually  by  the  Curates. 

In  the  Spanish  domains  the  duties  of  religion  are 
not  left  as  in  all  other  Christian  countries,  to  the  dis- 
cretion and  conscience  of  the  faithful.  The  minis- 
ters of  the  church  exercise,  in  this  respect,  a  superin- 
tendence, which  extends  to  all  religious  practices, 
but  principally  to  the  annual  confession.  Whoever 
fulfils  the  paschal  duty,  receives  from  the  confessor  a 
small  ticket,  upon  which  is  written  the  year ;  after 
that  this  single  word  confeso,  together  with  the  signa- 
ture of  the  priest.  At  church,  when  they  receive  the 
sacrament,  they  present  to  the  curate  the  ticket  of 
confession,  which  he  keeps ;  he  then  gives  another 


104 

signed  by  himself,  and  under  the  year,  is  written  the 
word  comulgo ;  he  has  received  the  sacrament. 

In  Lent,  the  curate,  or  one  of  his  superiors,  goes 
round  to  each  house,  takes  down  all  the  persons  who 
are  or  are  not  arrived  at  the  age  necessary  to  make 
confession.  After  Easter  is  passed,  the  same  priest, 
or  another  in  his  behalf,  returns  to  their  houses,  to 
take  up  the  communion  or  at  least,  the  confession 
ticket;  and  on  closely  comparing  the  number  of 
tickets  with  that  of  the  persons  whose  names  he  had 
marked  down  on  his  first  visit,  he  detects  frauds 
and  proceeds  accordingly.  This  ungracious  custom, 
which  creates  aversion  instead  of  attachment  to  the  tri- 
bunal of  penitence,  is  a  temptation  to  try  every  expe- 
dient to  impose  on  the  pastor.  Old  women  during 
Easter,  go  divers  times  to  confession,  and  receive  a 
ticket  each  time.  They  reserve  one  for  themselves 
and  sell  the  rest.  Their  ordinary  price  is  one  dol- 
lar ;  it  rises  in  proportion  as  the  term  of  exhibition 
approaches.  Those  who  can  conveniently  leave 
their  homes,  chuse  the  very  season  when  the  con- 
fession-tickets are  to  be  collected,  to  indulge  them- 
selves in  excursions  on  business  or  pleasure.  Others, 
on  the  first  visit  of  the  curate,  inform  only  against  a 
part  of  those  who  live  in  the  house,  or  compose  the 
family ;  finally,  there  are  some  who,  on  the  approach 
of  the  collector,  shut  their  doors  and  leave  him  to 
knock  till  some  neighbour  informs  that  nobody  is 
at  home. 

Had  I  undertaken  to  prove  the  inutility  of  the  pre- 
cautions which  are  taken  to  make  good  Christians, 
the  subject  would  furnish  matter  for  a  long  disscrta- 


105 

tion ;  but  my  object  is  to  show,  that  the  census  which 
occasioned  them,  is  imperfect.  Indeed,  according  to 
the  comparison  which  I  have  made  of  it  with  the 
population  of  some  cities  accurately  calculated,  it 
appears  that  it  contains  one  fourth,  or  beyond  all 
doubt,  one  fifth  less  than  the  real  number  of  inhabi- 
tants. Yet  the  government  is  so  strongly  persuaded, 
that  no  better  means  can  be  adopted,  that  on  the 
king's  requiring,  in  1801,  a  statement  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Captain- generalship  of  Caraccas,  no 
other  arrangement  was  made,  than  to  transit  it  the 
order  to  the  bishops,  who  would  execute  it  accord- 
ing to  the  established  custom,  so  as  to  be  liable  to 
those  imperfections,  which  we  have  endeavoured  to 
point  out. 

Division  of  the  Population. 

Thus,  after  all  the  information  I  have  endeavoured 
to  procure,  I  am  authorised  to  allow 

Souls. 
To  the  Province  of  Venezuela,  including  Varinas,^ 


a  population  of 

To  the  Government  of  Maracaibo  100,000 

TothatofCumana  -           80,000 

To  Spanish  Guiana  34,000 

To  the  Isle  of  Margaretta  1 4,000 

t  / 

Total,  -  728,000 

In  this  population,  the  whites  are  computed  at  two 
tenths,  the  slaves  at  three,  the  descendants  of  freed- 
men  at  four,  and  the  Indians  compose  the  remainder. 

This  population,  upon  a  soil  whose  fertility  and 
extent  might  not  only  subsist,  but  enrich  a  hundred 
times  the  number,  is  certainly  extremely  moderate, 

VOL.  I. 


106 

That  the  portion  of  Europeans  which  it  contains,  may 
not  appear  inconsiderable  on  a  comparative  view, 
reflect  only  on  the  small  population  of  the  metropolis, 
which  supplies  it ;  on  the  vast  possessions  of  the 
Spaniards  abroad,  which  are  settled  by  emigration 
from  the  mother  country ;  on  the  national  passion 
for  money,  which  attracts  to  Mexico  and  Peru  all 
the  Spaniards  whom  avarice  tempts  from  Europe  ; 
on  the  imaginary  misfortune  attached  to  the  provinces 
of  Caraccas,  because,  to  men,  whose  darling  object 
is  bullion,  it  only  affords  the  slow,  periodical  and  di- 
versified productions  of  a  land  which  demands  toil 
and  perseverance ;  and,  finally,  on  the  restrictions 
which  the  Spanish  government  are  obliged  to  impose 
upon  the  passage  of  Europeans  to  the  West-Indies, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  depopulation  of  the  ancient 
domains. 

Difficulties  which  Spaniards  experience  in  going  to 
America. 

No  person  is  allowed  to  embark  for  Spanish  Ame- 
rica, without  obtaining  permission  from  the  king, 
which  is  never  granted  but  for  commercial  purposes, 
duly  verified,  and  for  a  time  commonly  limited  to 
two  years.  For  a  permanent  establishment  it  is  very 
difficult  to  obtain  permission.  Priests  and  friars  are 
equally  subjected  to  the  same  formality.  The  Creoles 
who  make  a  temporary  residence  in  Spain,  cannot  re- 
turn to  their  property  and  relations,  without  the  ex- 
press permission  of  the  king.  This  prohibition  extends 
to  the  female  sex.  Women  must  apply  for  the  royal 


permission,  and  married  women  cannot  obtain  it,  ex- 
cept in  company  with  their  husbands.  This  system, 
as  appears,  is  entirely  opposite  to  that  of  other 
countries,  who  leave  their  colonies  so  unreservedly 
open  to  all  who  wish  to  go  to  them,  that  these  estab- 
lishments have  been  regarded  rather  as  the  foul  re- 
ceptacles of  all  the  impurities  of  the  mother  country, 
than  objects  of  deliberate  predilection.  About  thirty 
years  ago,  if  a  young  man  discovered  any  alarming 
symptoms  of  depravity  in  his  conduct,  he  was  threat- 
ened by  his  parents  with  being  sent  off  to  the  colo- 
nies ;  and  the  common  mode  of  proceeding  was  to 
apply  to  the  public  authority,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
execute  the  threat.  We  have  seen  decrees  passed  in 
France  to  commute  corporal  punishments  for  trans- 
portation to  the  colonies.  Even  in  our  own  days  it  is 
a  fact  of  very  recent  occurrence,  that  members  of 
the  legislative  body  and  directory,  victims  of  the 
faction  then  ruling,  have  been  transported  to  Ca- 
yenne, as  an  equivalent  for  the  punishment  of  death, 
which  it  would  have  been  extremely  dangerous  for 
their  enemies  to  inflict.  From  this  view  the  reflection 
will  naturally  arise,  that  if  the  French  colonies  are 
not  become  the  domain  of  immorality,  it  is  because 
the  persons,  who  were  supposed  to  be  depraved, 
were  not  so,  or  that  their  number  being  absorbed  in 
the  great  mass  of  laborious,  upright  and  loyal  men, 
with  whom  they  were  incorporated,  and  yielding  to 
the  reforming  influence  of  a  more  virtuous  society, 
changed  the  habit  of  vice  for  that  of  industry,  and 
the  practice  of  knavery  for  that  of  probity. 


108 

Spain,  more  just  or  more  tender  towards  her  colo- 
nies, although  without  any  pretensions  to  superior 
happiness  in  her  domestic  concerns,  has  always  di- 
rected, and  still  continues  to  direct,  her  whole  attention 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  their  morals,  and  prevent 
them  from  receiving  the  taint  of  European  corruption. 
From  the  7th  of  August,  1584,  no  person  has  been 
permitted  to  go  to  the  West-Indies,  unless  he  could 
present  authentic  information  with  respect  to  his  mo- 
rals and  good  behaviour. 

Nay,  it  is  not  very  long,  since  a  person  who  had 
his  passport  for  a  particular  province,  was  obliged  to 
repair  to  it  directly ;  and  could  not,  without  a  new  per- 
mission from  the  king,  go  to  a  province  subject  to 
another  government.  The  Europeans  who  take  their 
departure  from  Spain  for  the  province  of  Venezue- 
la, are  prohibited  by  different  laws,  from  proceeding 
to  the  new  kingdom  of  Grenada,  without  a  new  per- 
mission directly  and  expressly  given  by  the  king. — 
The  same  is  the  case  in  going  from  St.  Fe  to  Peru, 
from  Peru  to  Chili,  &c.  These  arrangements,  with- 
out being  ever  rescinded,  are,  however,  fallen  into 
disuse.  A  more  liberal  policy  has  superseded  their 
operation. 

The  legislator  thought  it  his  duty  to  testify  his  re- 
verence for  religion  by  denying  every  person  access 
to  Spanish  America,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
impeached  before  the  tribunal  of  the  inquisition, 
whatever  might  have  been  the  decision  pronounced 
upon  his  case.  Heretics,  the  children  and  grand-chil- 
dren of  the  victims  of  the  Autodafc,  or  of  those  who 
put  on  the  sanbenitot  were  likewise  debarred. — 


109 

The  difficulties  which  Strangers  experience  arc 
greater. 

The  difficulties  which  the  Spaniards  themselves 
experience  before  they  are  admitted  into  their  colo- 
nies, sufficiently  evince  those  which  must  be  sur- 
mounted by  foreigners,  who  wish  to  obtain  a  legal 
introduction.  Till  now,  the  first  requisite  for  procur- 
ing a  passport,  was  to  prove  a  Spanish  origin. — 
The  impossibility  of  giving  satisfaction  on  this  point 
rendered  all  solicitations,  and  all  proceedings  abor- 
tive. But  time,  at  length,  and  the  exigencies  of  the 
state,  more  than  any  change  of  system,  has  pre- 
sented another  order  of  things,  which  seems  to  open 
to  all  the  world  free  access  to  the  Spanish  settlements, 
on  condition  of  paying  the  tax  fixed  by  government. 

A  royal  order  of  the  3d  August,  1801,  intitled 
Tarif  of  Graces,  says  Art.  55  :  "  For  the  permissions 
"  which  are  granted  to  foreigners  to  pass  into  the  In- 
"  dies,  the  tax  shall  be  fixed  by  the  chamber  (of  the 
"  Indies)  according  to  the  importance  of  the  object  and 
"  circumstances."  The  following  article  taxes  the 
permission  of  residing  in  the  Indies,  at  8,200  reals  of 
vellon,  which  are  equal  to  400  milled  dollars,  or 
2,100  franks,  and  Art.  57  fixes  at  the  same  sum  of 
8,200  reals,  the  tax  for  the  naturalization  of  those 
who  have  the  requisite  qualifications,  of  which  the 
principal  one  is  to  be  a  catholic. 


110 

Trials  ivhich  Foreigners  undergo,  ivho  settle  in  the 
Spanish  Colonies. 

The  great  difficulty  of  getting  settled  in  the  Spa- 
nish colonies  naturally  excites,  in  the  breast  of  a  fo- 
reigner, who  is  in  pursuit  of  fortune,  a  desire  of 
making  a  permanent  establishment  there.  Some 
have  fallen,  and  daily  do  fall,  on  the  means  of  eluding 
the  law,  either  by  cunning  address,  or  by  the  indul- 
gence of  the  governors  or  commanders  of  the  places 
to  which  they  resort.  If  they  are  totally  inactive, 
if  they  lead  a  life  of  indigence,  intemperance,  or 
what  would  most  recommend  them,  of  abject  beg- 
gary, they  may  remain  without  molestation,  under 
the  humiliating  protection  of  Spanish  contempt.  If 
they  practise  some  trade  or  profession,  they  are  liable 
to  be  denounced,  persecuted,  and  treated  as  enemies 
by  all  the  Spaniards  of  the  same  trade  or  profession  ; 
they  must  lend  their  money  to  any  person  who  chuses 
to  apply  for  it ;  and  as  soon  as  their  generosity  ceases, 
persecution  begins.  If  they  have  any  acquaintance 
above  the  common  they  are  always  suspected  ;  for  it 
is  the  general  opinion  of  the  Spaniards  that  every  well 
informed  foreigner  must  be  an  enemy  to  the  laws  of 
the  country.  No  direct  inquiry  is  ever  made  with 
respect  to  religion,  unless  the  impiety  of  the  indivi- 
dual is  become  notorious  ;  they  never  have  recourse 
to  this  measure,  except  when  revenge  has  no  other 
means  of  gratification,  and  then,  nothing  is  more  ea- 
sy than  to  prove  the  irreligion  of  a  foreigner,  who  had 
always  IxToiv  passed  for  a  good  Christian.  Wit- 
nesses then  ov»Tar  tlvt  lie  has  spoken  irreverently  of 


Ill 

the  holy  mysteries  ;  that  he  only  goes  to  church  in 
order  to  be  guilty  of  indecencies  ;  that  he  has  treat- 
ed the  ceremonies  of  religion  with  derision,  Sec.  &c. 
It  is  however  true  that  the  tribunals,  divested  of  the 
prejudices  of  ancient  times,  do  not  apply  the  rigor  of 
the  law  to  this  sort  of  delinquency ;  but  people  fre- 
quently get  clear  by  some  years'  imprisonment,  by 
paying  the  expenses  of  prosecution,  or  by  suffering 
banishment. 

Hardly  any  emigration  from  Spain  to  Terra  Firrria. 

From  the  number  of  Europeans  scattered  over  the 
Captain-generalship  of  Caraccas,  one  would  be  apt  to 
think  that  a  considerable  emigration  takes  place  from 
Spain.  A  slight  examination  will  easily  prove  the 
contrary.  If  we  except  the  official  characters  sent  by 
government,  and  perhaps  even  including  these,  not 
more  than  a  hundred  annually  emigrate  from  the 
mother  country  to  the  Captain-generalship  of  Carac- 
cas. It  is  also  true,  that  fewer  still  return  to  Europe. 
The  Spaniards  being  of  a  grave  character,  and  seden- 
tary habit,  are  extremely  loath  to  change  their  situa- 
tion. Once  arrived  in  America,  none  of  them  enter- 
tain the  smallest  desire  to  visit  their  household  gods. 
They  create  for  themselves  new  ones,  wherever  for- 
tune has  cast  their  lot.  Nay,  they  frequently  get 
themselves  wives  and  beget  children  before  they 
have  provided  for  their  own  subsistence.  They  are 
only  the  Biscay ans  and  Catalonians,  whose  love  of 
country  is  not  so  easily  extinguished. 


112 

Attachment  of  the  Creoles  to  their  Country. 

As  to  the  Creoles  they  scarce  remember  that 
Spain  is  their  mother-country.  The  idea  which  they 
have  of  it,  is  far  from  inspiring  them  with  the  desire 
of  approaching  it.  From  the  eagerness  with  which 
theEuropeans  set  off  for  America,  they  think  there 
exists  not  a  better  country  than  their  own ;  and  from 
the  avidity  with  which  the  Spaniards  arrive  from  Old 
Spain,  they  are  confident  they  inhabit  the  happiest 
land  upon  the  globe.  They  think  nothing  of  the  fine 
climate  and  productions  of  Europe,  when  they  behold 
the  extreme  wretchedness  of  those  who  come  from  it. 
Intoxicated  with  this  opinion,  they  feel  a  kind  of  pride 
in  being  born  on  the  soil  of  the  New  World,  and  con- 
ceive an  unalterable  attachment  for  a  country  but  late- 
ly adopted  by  their  fathers.  It  is  not,  therefore,  as- 
tonishing that  a  population  unchecked  by  emigration, 
by  war,  or  by  pestilence,  should  have  progressively 
increased  for  near  three  hundred  years,  however 
small  it  might  have  been  in  its  origin.  It  would  have 
been  still  more  considerable,  if  the  churches  had 
been  less  supplied  with  ministers,  and  the  cloisters 
with  monks  and  friars. 

Public  Education. 

Manners  are  so  closely  connected  with  the  system 
of  education,  that  they  are  commonly  but  the  re- 
sult of  the  impressions  received  at  school.  Men 
are  almost  always  what  they  are  made.  Thus  to 
know  in  what  manner  a  nation  educate  their  children. 


113 

is  very  nearly  to  know  their  manners.  I  do  not, 
therefore,  depart  from  the  rules  of  history,  when  I 
analyse  the  education  before  I  develope  the  morals 
of  the  Creoles.  Here  I  congratulate  my  reader, 
upon  being  able  to  assure  him  that  this  part  of  my 
duty  shall  be  performed  without  the  errors  which 
spring  from  prejudice  or  prepossession ;  for  I  have 
only  to  become  the  interpreter  of  D.  Miguel  Joseph 
Sanz,  a  gentleman  of  the  law,  born  at  Valencia,  in 
the  province  of  Venezuela.  This  gentleman,  whose 
excellent  natural  parts,  improved  by  education,  have 
elevated  him  above  that  thick  mist  of  prejudice  with 
which  he  is  surrounded,  has  been  charged  by  the 
government,  with  the  task  of  framing  a  code  of  muni- 
cipal  laws  for  the  city  of  Caraccas,  and  from  what  I 
have  seen  of  his  performance,  during  my  stay  there, 
[  can  with  confidence  affirm  that  he  fully  justifies 
the  honor  conferred  on  him  by  the  choice.  To  me 
he  appeared  happily  to  unite  extensive  views  and 
wise  measures,  with  vigourous  and  correct  principles. 
"  No  sooner,"  says  this  new  Lycurgus  of  Vene- 
zuela, in  his  discourse  on  public  education,  "  No 
sooner  does  the  child  discover  the  first  feeble  efforts 
of  intellect,  than  he  is  sent  to  school,  where  he 
learns  to  read  books  replete  with  ridiculous  and  ex- 
travagant tales,  frightful  miracles,  and  a  superstitious 
devotion  reduced  to  certain  external  forms,  by 
which  he  is  disciplined  to  hypocrisy  and  imposture. 
— Far  from  instructing  him  in  those  primary  duties, 
from  which  all  others  are  derived,  by  impressing 
his  tender  heart  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  greatness, 
the  power,  the  goodness  and  the  justice  of  the  su- 

VOL.  I.  T 


114 

9 

prcme  being,  creator  of  all  tilings,  so  as  to  inspire 
him  with  truly  chri.itian  maxims,  his  father  is  content- 
ed, and  thinks  he  has  discharged  his  duty,  provided 
the  child  knows  certain  forms  of  prayer  by"  rote, 
recites  the  rosary,  wears  a  scapulary,  and  performs 
certain  other  external  acts  of  the  Christian  ritual, 
which,  allowing  them  to  be  in  themselves  good, 
pious  and  devout,  are  however,  by  no  means  suffi- 
cient to  make  him  a  good  Christian,  or  a  virtuous 
man.  Instead  of  teaching  their  children  what  they 
owe  to  God,  to  themselves  and  to  their  neighbours, 
they  suffer  them  to  engage  in  every  kind  of  danger- 
ous amusement,  without  paying  the  smallest  atten- 
tion to  the  society  which  they  frequent.  Instead  of 
precepts  of  morality,  they  inculcate  certain  points  of 
pride  and  vanity  which  makes  them  abuse  the  privi- 
leges of  their  birth,  because  they  do  not  know  the 
objects  for  which  they  were  conferred.  There  are 
few  of  the  youth  of  Caraccas,  who  do  not  pretend  to 
a  pre-eminence  in  rank,  and  foolishly  pride  them- 
selves in  having  a  grandfather  an  alfcrez,  an  uncle  an 
alcaide,  a  brother  a  monk,  or  a  relation  a  priest. 

"These  failings,  which  arise  entirely  from  edu- 
cation, breed  animosities  among  families,  and  make 
the  citizens  deceitful  and  irrational.  There  can  be 
no  sincerity,  peace,  attachment  nor  confidence  in 
a  country,  where  every  one  makes  it  the  object  of 
his  particular  study  to  be  distinguished  above  others 
by  his  birth  and  vanity  ;  where,  instead  of  inspiring 
children  with  a  just  emulation  of  the  virtues  of 
their  distinguished  countrymen,  and  with  a  hor- 


115 

ror  of  the  vices  and  crimes  of  the  \vicked,  they  are 
taught,  or,  at  least,  hear  nothing  from  the  mouths  of 
their  parents,  but,  whether  Peter  is  not  as  noble 
as  Anthony  ;  that  the  family  of  John  has  such,  or 
such  a  blemish  ;  that  when  a  marriage  took  place 
in  this  family,  that  of  Diego  went  into  mourning. 
Such  puerile  conversations  banish  every  manly  sen- 
timent from  the  heart,  powerfully  influence  man- 
ners, create  divisions  between  families,  keep  up  a 
spirit  of  distrust,  and  break  the  bonds  of  charity, 
which  are  the  very  foundation,  and  object  of  so- 
ciety. 

"  The  system  of  education,"  continues  Dr.  Sanz, 
"  is  generally  bad  at  Caraccas.  Btfore  a  child  is  yet 
very  well  acquainted  with  his  alphabet,  before  he 
can  read  without  understanding,  or  scribble  a  little 
with  his  pen,  they  put  into  his  hands  the  grammar 
of  Nebrija,  without  considering,  that,  unable  to 
speak  his  native  language,  to  read,  write  or  cal- 
culate, it  is  ridiculous  to  put  him  to  the  Latin  Ian- 
guage,  or  to  make  him  apply  to  the  study  of  the 
sciences  which  are  taught  at  the  university ;  for 
the  child  is  exposed  in  society  to  many  mortifica- 
tions and  even  to  contempt,  notwithstanding  the 
gratification  his  vanity  may  receive  from  those 
showy  literary  badges  which  announce  him  a  doc- 
tor. Is  it  not  really  pitiful  to  see  a  student,  af- 
ter becoming  pale  and  emaciated  by  several  years 
attendance  at  the  higher  seminaries,  incapable  of 
expressing  himself  with  precision  in  his  native  lan- 
guage, of  writing  a  letter,  or  even  marking  the 
accents  with  tolerable  correctness  ?" 


116 

"  This  is  a  palpable  evil,  and  requires  no  proof.— 
Nay,  what  is  still  more  surprising,  these  same  scho- 
lars or  doctors  obstinately  contend,  that  to  acquire  a 
grammatical  knowledge  of  their  mother  tongue  and 
to  read  and  write  it  correctly,  is  but  a  wanton  sacri- 
fice of  time. 

"  This  precipitation  in  their  studies  arises  from  a  na- 
tural ardour  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  a 
want  of  method  to  direct  it.  Boys,  who  have  prema- 
turely commenced  the  study  of  the  Latin  language 
and  the  liberal  sciences,  before  they  are  taught  their 
native  tongue  or  the  common  rules  of  arithmetic,  re- 
turn with  reluctance  after  they  grow  up,  to  those  stu- 
dies which  they  neglected  in  their  youth.  They  fan- 
cy the  whole  circle  of  the  sciences  are  contained  in 
the  Latin  grammar  of  Nebrija,  the  philosophy  of  Ar- 
istotle, the  institutes  of  Justinian,  the  Curia  Philippi- 
ca,  and  the  theological  writings  of  Gonet  and  Larraga. 
If  they  can  make  extracts  from  these  works,  say  mass, 
display  the  doctor's  badge,  or  appear  in  the  dress  of  a 
priest  or  monk,  they  are  then  sufficiently  accomplish- 
ed for  any  line  or  profession.  Decency,  however,  in 
their  opinion,  debars  them  from  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  enjoins  them  to  treat  the  mechanical  arts  with 
sovereign  contempt.  If  they  wear  the  military  dress, 
it  is  merely  out  of  ostentation ;  if  they  make  bad  trans- 
lations from  the  French,  they  corrupt  the  Spanish  lan- 
giuige.  Some  take  up  the  profession  of  the  law, 
merely  to  gain  a  livelihood ;  others  enter  into  holy  or- 
ders to  acquire  importance  ;  and  some  there  are  who 
take  the  vow  of  poverty  for  the  express  purpose  of 
being  secured  against  it.  There  is  scarcely  a  person 


117 

of  any  distinction,  but  pretends  to  be  a  military  officer, 
without  having  paid  any  attention  to  those  qualifica- 
tions which  are  indispensable  for  the  profession  of 
arms.  There  is  not  one,  whether  originally  white, 
or  become  so  by  generation,  who  is  not  ambitious  of 
becoming  a  lawyer,  a  priest  or  a  monk.  Those  whose 
pretensions  are  not  so  great,  wish  at  least  to  be  nota- 
ries, scriveners,  or  clerks,  or  to  be  attached  to  some 
religious  community,  as  lay-brothers,  pupils,  or  found- 
lings. Thus  the  fields  are  deserted,  whilst  their  fer- 
tility reproaches  our  inactivity.  The  laborious  hus- 
bandman is  an  object  of  contempt.  Every  one  wishes 
to  be  a  gentleman,  to  lead  an  idle  life,  addicted  to  the 
frightful  vices  of  luxury,  gaming,  chicane  and  calum- 
ny. It  is  thus  that  law  suits  are  multiplied,  the  wicked 
thrive,  the  good  are  discouraged,  and  every  thing  goes 
to  wreck. 

"  It  is  the  want  of  a  cultivated  understanding  which 
makes  people  persevere  in  errors  so  prejudicial  to 
their  felicity.  If  they  knew  that  no  work  is  more 
agreeable  to  God  than  what  tends  to  the  preservation 
of  his  worship,  their  own  good,  and  that  of  their  neigh- 
bours, the  prebends,  which  are  founded  for  say  ing  mass, 
the  endowments  made  for  celebrating  the  festivals  of 
saints  with  drums  and  bonfires,  the  pious  contributions 
made  for  ridiculous  processions  and  noisy  revelry,  the 
expenses  incurred  in  blazoning  their  ensigns  armorial 
for  escorts  and  funeral  pomp,  and  other  liberal  distri- 
butions, which,  notwithstanding  they  are  of  a  religious 
nature,  and  spring  from  the  best  intentions,  yet  are 
by  no  means  indispensable — I  say  the  amount  of  all 
those  expenditures  would  be  appropriated  to  the  use 


118 

of  schools,  to  the  liberal  support  of  good  teachers  qa- 
pabie  of  inspiring  youth  betimes  with  religious  arid 
political  maxims.  From  such  a  course  of  education 
might  be  expected  wise  magistrates/  enlightened 
citizens,  who,  not  abusing  authority  in  order  to  flatter 
their  passions,  nor  religion  in  order  to  conceal  their 
ignorance  under  the  veil  of  hypocrisy  and  superstition, 
nor  power  or  riches  in  order  to  oppress  the  poor, 
would  become  the  ornament  of  society,  and  the  active 
promoters  of  public  prosperity.  We  see  convents 
and  fraternities  with  immense  endowments,  and  very 
rich  images  ;  priests  with  prebends  invested  with  10, 
20,  30  and  40  thousand  dollars.  Who  without 
indignation  can  see  in  this  province  all  property 
without  exception  subject  to  ecclesiastic  and  mo- 
nastic rents,  whilst  not  the  smallest  provision  is  made 
for  the  payment  of  the  teachers  who  publicly  instruct 
the  rising  generation  in  the  principles  of  the  religion 
which  they  profess,  and  in  the  duties  which  are  incum- 
bent on  them  as  men,  and  as  subjects? 

"  The  misfortune  which  arises  from  giving  youth 
an  education  which  disposes  them  to  enter  into  holy 
orders  is  equally  to  be  lamented.  The  parents  of  those 
children  who  do  not  become  priests,  monks,  or  friars, 
though  they  have  not  previously  examined  whether 
nature  has  designed  them  for  cither  of  these  voca- 
tions, feel  theselves  miserably  mortified  at  the  disap- 
pointment. Without  any  other  reason  or  motive  but 
that  they  Ivave  been  bred  in  some  convent,  or  have  in 


119 

some  capacity  or  other  served  in  a  church,  they  get 
themselves  ordained,  or  take  the  vows,  merely  to 
gratify  their  parents,  or  because  they  cannot  resist  the 
taste  which,  from  the  habits  of  education,  they  have 
contracted  for  that  kind  of  life.  Thus  the  number  of 
privileged  persons  is  multiplied,  and  the  rest  of  the 
citizens  are  overcharged  with  prebends,  fees  and 
rents,  which  are  founded  for  the  subsistence  of  ec- 
clesiastics, besides  other  duties  and  contributions, 
from  which  their  profession  is  exempted." 

This  portrait,  solely  designed  for  the  city  of  Ca- 
raccas,  is  equally  descriptive  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
country,  which  my  work  contemplates.  It  exhibits 
all  the  characters  of  truth.  The  hand,  however,  that 
directed  the  pencil  has  given  too  dark  a  colouring  to 
the  features.  It  is  true,  that  the  Spanish  Creoles  do 
not  receive  such  an  education  as  would  be  neces- 
sary to  make  them  statesmen,  but  neither  is  it  so 
defective  as  to  make  ignorance  their  distinguishing 
character.  The  motive  which  prompted  this  de- 
clamation will  require  no  other  explanation  than 
to  be  informed,  that  the  person  who  speaks,  is  a 
friend  to  the  prosperity  of  his  country  ;  a  man  who 
wishes  that  the  light  of  reason,  with  which  he  himself 
is  so  eminently  favoured,  should  dissipate  the  darkness 
in  which  his  countrymen  are  unhappily  involved ;  a 
father  of  a  family,  who  thinks  that  the  most  precious 
inheritance  which  can  be  transmitted  from  one  gene- 
ration to  another,  is  the  practice  of  virtue,  which  im- 
plies a  hearty  and  sincere  homage  from  the  creature 


120 

to  the  Creator,  a  respect  for  the  depositaries  of  the  * 
public  authorities,  obedience  to  the  laws,  and  the 
love  of  industry.  In  order  to  substitute  wholesome 
for  vicious  opinions,  useful  for  baneful  customs,  he 
has  painted  abuses  and  prejudices  under  the  most 
hideous  forms,  that  a  strong  persuasion  of  the  enor- 
mity of  the  evil,  might  the  more  readily  dispose  to 
adopt  a  remedy. 

Aptitude  of  the  Creoles  for  the  Sciences. 

The  truth  is  that  the  Creoles  of  Terra  Firma  pos- 
sess a  quick,  penetrating  mind,  and  are  more  capable 
of  application,  than  the  Creoles  of  our  colonies.  They 
are  inferior  to  them  in  elegant  accomplishments, 
agreeable  manners  and  genteel  deportment,  because 
the  military  exercises,  horsemanship,  dancing,  music 
and  drawing,  constitute  no  part  of  their  education. 
But  from  their  successful  application  in  the  schools, 
and  the  facility  with  which  they  acquire  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  civil  law,  one  may  judge,  that  no- 
thing is  wanting  for  the  improvement  of  their  dispo- 
sition, but  a  direction  towards  objects,  the  knowledge 
of  which  tends  to  open  the  understanding,  form  the 
judgment  and  adorn  the  mind.  Till  the  present 
period,  the  education  of  the  Spanish  Creoles,  par- 
took of  those  national  prejudices,  which  inspired  con- 
tempt for  every  thing  that  did  not  originate 
amongst  themselves.  They  were  fully  persuaded, 
that  there  existed  no  just  sentiments,  no  solid 
principles,  nor  sound  morality,  but  amongst  the  Spa- 
niards, and  consequently  that  they  would  incur  a  loss 


121 

by  a  mixture  of  their  own  productions,  with  those  of 
foreign  nations.  But  a  happy  revolution  of  opinion  is 
now  on  the  eve  of  being  accomplished,  and  every 
thing  announces  that  the  succeeding  generation  will 
exhibit  to  the  astonished  world  the  spectacle  of  a 
moral  amelioration,  atchieved  by  the  increased 
energy  of  the  national  wisdom  in  consequence  of  the 
admission  of  whatever  is  useful  in  the  principles  of 
other  nations.  Indeed,  all  the  Spanish  youth,  fully 
sensible  of  the  insufficiency  of  their  education,  apply 
with  avidity  to  the  reading  of  foreign  books,  to  supply 
the  deficiency  of  domestic  instruction.  Amongst 
these  very  few  are  to  be  seen,  who  do  not,  with  the 
aid  alone  of  a  dictionary,  make  a  shift  to  translate 
French  and  English,  and  use  every  exertion  to  speak 
them  both,  but  particularly  the  former.  They  do  not, 
like  their  fathers,  think  that  geography  is  an  useless 
science,  and  that  the  history  of  mankind  does  not,  by 
giving  a  view  of  the  past,  throw  some  light  upon  the 
future.  It  is  at  present  agreed  that  commerce  con- 
tains a  theory  more  worthy  of  being  attended  to,  than 
it  has  yet  been  among  the  Spaniards.  They  begin  to 
be  less  ashamed  of  studying  its  regulations,  and  even 
of  pursuing  it  as  an  occupation.  Their  extravagant 
passion  for  distinction  is  the  only  prejudice  which 
seems  to  maintain  its  ground  ;  but  that  in  its  turn 
will  naturally  yield  to  the  progress  of  reason. 

This  revolution,  which  is  daily  progressing  among 
the  Spaniards,  discovers  itself  even  in  the  articles  of 
dress  and  external  show,  in  which  their  partiality  ap- 
pears decidedly  in  favour  of  the  French  fashions. — 
The  sword,  that  dear  companion  of  every  Spaniard, 

VOL.  I.  u 


122 

from  his  earliest  infancy  to  the  day  of  his  death,  is  no 
more  seen  dangling  by  his  side,  but  on  occasions  of  the 
greatest  public  ceremony.  He  continues  every  day  to 
lose  his  conceit  for  it,  and  the  period  is  not  far  dis- 
tant, when  it  will  be  as  rare  to  see  a  sword  in  the 
streets  of  Madrid,  as  to  see  a  three  tailed  wig  in 
those  of  Paris.  Slouched  hats,  cropped  and  unpow- 
dered  heads,  pantaloons  up  to  the  breast,  short  vests, 
buttoned  half  way,  is  the  stile  in  which  the  young 
Sp  iniards  appear,  who,  by  their  opulence  and  rank, 
are  entitled  to  preside  in  the  circles  of  fashion.  Their 
highest  ambition  is  to  assimilate  their  manners  to 
those  of  the  French.  A  compliment  more  flattering 
cannot  be  paid  to  a  young  gentleman,  than  to  tell 
him  he  looks  like  a  Frenchman  ;  it  is  as  much  as  to 
say  he  is  a  man  of  taste,  courage  and  information. 

The  Custom  of  the  Afternoon-Nap. 

No  custom  seems  to  have  taken  a  deeper  root  in 
the  Spanish  manners  than  that  of  the  nap,  which  they 
take  after  dinner.  There  is  not  a  single  individual 
in  the  Spanish  settlements,  who  is  not  in  the  habit  of 
appropriating  two,  three,  or  sometimes  four  hours  of 
his  time  every  day  to  sleep,  be  his  repast  heavy  or 
light.  To  deprive  him  of  this  indulgence  would  prove 
as  painful  to  him  as  to  be  deprived  of  his  nightly  re- 
pose. Those  who  are  most  engaged  in  the  throng 
and  bustle* of  business,  take  care  to  make  such  ar- 
rangements of  their  time,  as  not  to  interfere  with  that 
of  the  nap  ;  and,  as  if  this  singular  habit  arose,  not 
less  from  the  nature  of  the  climate  than  that  of  the 


123 


inhabitants,  strangers  seldom  pass  a  year  there  with- 


out contracting  it. 


Marriages. 

As  by  taking  a  view  of  the  system  of  education 
established  in  a  country,  we.  are  enabled  to  acquire 
correct  notions  of  the  manners  of  its  inhabitants,  so 
by  inquiring  into  the  principles  upon  which  marriage 
is  fixed,  we  shall  be  furnished  with  a  key  for  the  dis- 
closure of  their  morals,  so  as  to  be  able  to  discern 
their  real  complexion,  and  not  that  specious  artificial 
form  under  which  they  are  externally  so  marked  ind 
disguised  by  the  selfish  passions  and  sinister  motives 
of  men,  as  easily  to  impose  upon  the  superficial  ob- 
server.   To  the  examination,  therefore,    which  we 
have  just  concluded,  will  naturally  succeed  that  which 
we  are  going  to  undertake. 

Religion,  public  opinion,  and  that  spirit  of  gallan- 
try which  distinguishes  the  nation,  all  conspire  to 
establish  amongst  the  Spaniards  a  partiality  for  ma- 
trimony, which  is  not  otherwise  without  its  particu- 
lar prerogatives.  The  smallest  indication,  for  in- 
stance, of  irregular  conduct,  is  admitted  as  a  proof 
against  a  batchelor ;  whereas,  the  most  indisputable 
proofs  against  a  married  man,  are  generally  rejected, 
unless  his  lawful  wife  prefers  the  complaint. 

The  Spaniards  marry  very  young. 

In  the  Snanish  domains,  as  well  as  in  all  other 
countries,  which  are  furnished  with  a  written  code  of 


124 

laws,  the  girls  are  allowed  to  be  arrived  at  the  period 
which  is  commonly  called  the  age  of  puberty  at 
twelve,  and  boys  at  fourteen  years  :  this  is  also  about 
the  time  the  Spaniards  think  of  marrying.  A  young 
man,  not  destined  for  the  church,  who  is  not  married 
at  20,  begins  to  be  thought  dilatory.  Nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  see  a  young  couple,  both  whose  ages 
when  added  do  not  exceed  30.  As  soon  as  nature  gives 
the  hint,  they  seek  to  gratify  her  desire  in  the  chaste 
bands  of  matrimony.  Marriage  they  think  is  the  seal 
of  manhood.  The  study  of  characters  seldom  precedes 
the  conjugal  tie.  An  union  for  life  is  formed  with  as 
little  premeditation  as  if  it  were  that  of  a  day.  The 
symruthv  of  caprice  is  mistaken  for  that  of  passion, 
a  mo mentary  liking  for  a  permanent  attachment. 
This,  in  a  great  measure,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
Swinish  laws,  which,  in  this  important  transaction  of 
human  life,  upo  i  which  depend  the  happiness  or  mi- 
sery of  the  parties  concerned  for  the  remainder  of 
th;eir  days,  give  too  little  controul  to  parents  over  the 
inclinations  of  their  children. 

In  all  civilized  nations,  parents  possess  an  absolute 
authority  over  their  children  till  the  period  fixed  by 
law.  The  Batavian  Republic  has  extended  this  pe- 
riod to  twenty  years  for  females,  and  to  twenty-five 
for  m.iles ;  England  has  restricted  it  to  twenty-one 
for  both  sexes.  In  France  the  expiration  of  mino- 
rity was  fixed  at  twenty-five  for  females  and  thirty  for 
males.*  As  long  as  children  are  minors,  they  rc- 

*  The  law  of  the  26th  Ventose,  year  11,  respecting  marriage,  dates 
the  majority  of  males  at  twenty-one,  and  that  of  females  at  twenty- 
five  ;  bit  both  have  the  management  and  free  disposal  of  their  estates 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  according  to  the  law  of  the  8th  Germinal, 
year  11. 


125 

main  in  entire  dependence  on  their  parents.  During 
this  time  they  are  allowed  to  have  no  will  of  their 
own  ;  every  engagement  which  they  contract  is  null, 
every  promise  is  nugatory.  By  this  wise  measure, 
the  intention  of  the  legislator  was,  to  subject  the  mo- 
rals of  youth  to  a  salutary  controul ;  to  put  them  un- 
der the  protection  of  enlightened  guardians,  capable 
of  discovering  the  snares  that  might  be  laid  for  their 
inexperienced  age.  No  one  is  more  entitled  or  bet- 
ter qualified  for  the  discharge  of  these  delicate  and 
very  important  duties,  than  those  to  whom  nature 
seems  to  have  confidentially  assigned  them,  upon  the 
security  of  such  ties,  as  render  the  happiness  of  the 
pupil  as  dear  to  them  as  their  own. 

The  authority  of  Parents  over  Children  is  less  than  in 
other  States. 

The  Spanish  laws,  if  I  may  judge  of  them  accord- 
ing to  several  instances  which  have  fallen  under  my 
observation,  are  singular  in  supposing  that  parents 
are  indifferent  with  respect  to  the  prosperity  of  their 
children.  With  an  absurdity  not  easy  to  be  conceiv- 
ed, the  legislator  proceeds  upon  the  presumption  that 
their  reasoning  faculties  attain  to  perfect  maturity  at 
the  age  of  puberty.  We  easily  perceive,  both  from 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  their  laws,  that  children  are  not. 
of  age  till  twenty-one,  and  that  till  that  period  the  con- 
sent of  the  parents  is  indispensable  to  enable  them  to 
enter  into  legal  marriage.  But  a  misapplied  juris- 
prudence renders  that  disposition  abortive  :  for  a  lit- 
tle girl  at  the  age  of  twelve,  or  stripling  boy  at  four- 


126 

teen,  who  talks  of  entering  into  the  sacred  bands  of 
marriage,  asks  the  consent  of  his  parents  as  a  mere 
matter  of  form.  If  it  does  not  appear  to  be  a  suitable 
match,  if  the  conduct,  the  morals,  the  education  of 
the  beloved  object  does  not  promise  a  happy  union, 
the  parents,  as  no  doubt  is  their  duty,  withhold  their 
consent.  But  their  refusal,  instead  of  arresting  all 
further  proceedings  in  the  business,  as  it  would  in  any 
other  country,  only  furnishes  amongst  the  Spa- 
niards, an  occasion  to  the  refractory  child  to  in- 
stitute a  scandalous  law-suit,  against  those  who 
gave  him  birth.  Justice,  instead  of  defending  the 
parental  authority,  gives  a  favourable  reception  to 
the  complaints  of^a  child  in  his  first  departure  from 
filial  duty  to  the  pursuit  of  a  licentious  conduct. — 
Upon  the  first  application,  they  grant  the  female  peti- 
tioner what  she  asks,  to  be  removed  from  her  father's 
house  to  another  lodging.  The  parents,  in  con- 
sequence of  this,  are  condemned  to  furnish  money  to 
pay  her  board  as  well  as  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
suit,  and  all  that  they  are  allowed  to  advance  in  their 
own  defence  is  the  inferiority  of  the  proposed  son  or 
daughter-in-law  in  point  of  rank.  That  is  the  only 
point  which  will  be  admitted  as  satisfactory  and  con- 
clusive on  the  part  of  the  court.  It  is  natural,  there- 
fore, always  to  insist  upon  that  point,  and  it  as  na- 
turally  follows  that,  all  that  is  said  and  written  upon 
a  question,  so  deeply  interesting  to  a  people  who 
know  no  advantages  superior  to  those  of  birth,  should 
excite  general  sensibility  and  party  passions,  and  give 
rise  to  vexatious  suits,  which  perpetuate  animosity 
amongst  families.  But  should  equality  of  rank  be 


127 

incontestably  established,  irregularity  of  life,  dispari- 
ty of  age  and  difference  of  fortune  are  no  bar  to  the 
court's  authorising  a  celebration  of  marriage. 

The  disobedient  child  has  another  mode  more  sim- 
ple, but  more  rarely  put  in  practice,  of  defying  the  pa- 
rental authority,  and  gratifying  her  own  taste.  It  is 
sufficient  to  constitute  a  valid  marriage,  that  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  publicly  declare  to  their  parish  cu- 
rate, that  they  take  one  another  for  man  and  wife. 

The  want  of  publication  of  bans,  and  consent  of  pa- 
rents is  no  obstacle  to  the  administration  of  the  cere- 
mony. Children,  who  have  not  obtained  the  consent 
of  their  parents,  or  choose  to  save  themselves  the  trou- 
ble of  applying  in  order  to  avoid  the  mortification  of  a 
premeditated  refusal,  present  themselves  to  the  curate 
in  the  street,  in  private  houses,  or  wherever  they 
can  have  a  chance  of  meeting  him,  and  fulfil  upon 
the  spot  a  formality,  which,  however  ludicrous  may 
be  the  manner  of  conducting  it,  is  sufficiently  effectual 
to  unite  them  for  life  in  bands,  which  would  be  the 
cause  of  less  sorrow  and  repentance  if  they  were  not 
indissoluble. 

Happy  Reform. 

It  is  true,  that  the  civil  laws,  in  this  instance  at 
variance  with  the  canonical  laws,  prohibit  these  kind 
of  marriages,  but  the  penalties  imposed  on  the  delin- 
quents are  always  eluded,  because  the  families  which 
ought  to  insist  upon  their  infliction,  when  the  affair 
is  over,  and  cannot  be  helped,  have  no  other  part  to 
act,  but  to  pardon  ;  so  that  the  child  who  joins 


128 

effrontery  to  disobedience,  may  boast  that  every 
thing,  even  the  laws  are  favourable  to  his  irregulari- 
ties. In  England  every  minister  of  the  gospel,  who 
marries  minors  without  a  certificate  of  the  parents' 
consent,  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  one  hundred  pounds 
sterling.  The  French  laws,  besides  disinheriting  the 
refractory  child,  declared  the  clergyman  who  pros- 
tituted his  ministry  to  a  clandestine  marriage,  guilty 
of  a  rape  and  ordered  him  to  be  prosecuted  for  it. 
This  violent  regulation  produced  an  effect,  which 
left  no  occasion  to  have  recourse  to  it.* 

*  As  I  finished  writing- this  article,  lamenting1  the  inadequacy  and  vi- 
ciousness  of  the  Spanish  law  upon  that  important  subject,  chance,  as  it 
were,  yielding  to  the  vows  which  I  was  forming-  for  the  repression  of 
abuses,  threw  into  my  hands  a  proof  that  they  no  longer  existed.  In 
fact,  by  a  pragmatic  sanction,  of  the  28th  of  April,  1803,  issued,  in 
order  to  give  the  decree  of  the  10th  of  the  same  month,  the  force  and 
effect  of  a  constitutional  law,  his  Catholic  Majesty  has  declared,  that 
males  under  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  females  under  twenty-three, 
cannot  contract  marriage  without  the  express  consent  of  their  father  ; 
who  shall  not  be  bound  to  give  the  reasons  of  his  refusal.  In  case  of 
the  death  or  absence  of  the  father,  the  mother  is  to  exercise  the  same 
right ;  but,  in  this  case,  the  children  may  marry  one  year  before  their 
respective  majority :  and  in  failure  of  the  father  and  mother,  the  grand- 
fathers, on  the  father  and  mother's  side  must  be  asked  for  their  consent 
till  the  age  of  twenty -three  by  the  males,  and  the  age  of  twenty-one  by 
the  females. 

Military-men,  who  must  have  the  permission  of  the  king  to  marry, 
must  not  demand  it,  till  they  have  previously  obtained  it  of  their  fathers 
Yet,  if  it  is  refused,  they  can  always  solicit  that  of  the  king,  who  will 
grant  or  refuse  it,  according  to  circumstances. 

The  curates  and  vicars,  who  shall  celebrate  marriages  without  the 
observance  of  these  forms,  shall  be  banished  and  their  estates  confiscat- 
ed. The  contracting  parties  shall  incur  the  same  penalty. 

In  no  court,  secular  or  ecclesiastic,  shall  demands  be  admitted  with 
respect  to  marriages  not  contracted  in  the  manner  here  prescribed  ;  and 
in  that  case  they  shall  proceed  not  as  for  criminal  or  mixed  affairs,  but 
as  for  affairs  purely  civil. 

Even  the  king's  children  cannot  contract  marriage  without  the  con- 
sent of  their  father,  or  of  the  king  his  successor.  They  can  never  ac- 
quire the  liberty  of  marrying  without  this  consent. 


12$ 

Causes  of  unhappy  Marriages. 

To  marriages  contracted  at  too  early  a  period  is  to 
be  ascribed  those  domestic  disturbances  which  so 
frequently  appear  in  Spanish  families.  To  the  ar- 
dour and  impetuosity  of  passion  which  impelled  the 
young  couple  to  contract  the  engagement,  succeeds 
the  calm  of  reason  and  reflection,  which  unfortunate- 
ly condemns  the  transaction.  The  contrariety  of 
their  characters  soon  embroils  the  matrimonial  peace, 
and  nothing  but  a  regard  to  honour,  public  opinion 
and  religion  prevents  them  from  dissolving  a  tyethat 
makes  them  so  completely  miserable.  They  pre- 
serve appearances,  but  cordially  hate  one  another. — 
Fidelity  becomes  a  burden,  which  neither  of  them 
cares  to  support.  The  children,  to  whose  eyes  the  ir- 
regularity of  the  father,  and  the  intrigues  of  the  mo- 
ther are  glaringly  exposed,  are,  in  their  tender  age, 
trained  up  in  the  school  of  vice,  the  baneful  effects  of 
which  are  thus  transmitted  to  distant  posterity.  Had 
Montesquieu  been  acquainted  with  the  state  of  do- 
mestic society  amongst  the  Spaniards  in  America,  or 
had  his  writings  been  expressly  addressed  to  them, 
he  certainly  would  not  have  hazarded  the  opinion, 
that  the  more  marriage  prevailed,  the  less  the  vice  of 
infidelity  would  appear  amongst  them.  The  incon- 
siderate protection  which  the  Spanish  police  extends, 
to  wives,  to  the  prejudice  of  their  husbands,  is  ano- 
ther source  of  evil  in  their  domestic  intercourse.  No 

Here  we  see  the  light  of  reason  gradually  dissipate  the  darkness  of 
prejudice.  This  cedule  was  published  at  Caraccas,  the  3d  February, 
1804. 

VOL.  I.  x 


130 

mortal  is  more  unhappy  than  a  Spaniard,  whose  wife 
is  of  a  jealous,  unruly,  or  peevish  disposition.  If  she  is 
tormented  with  jealousy  she  easily  finds  access  to  the 
provisor,  the  curate,  or  any  of  the  magistrates,  who 
are  all  disposed  implicitly  to  believe  whatever  tale  of 
reproach  her  malicious  ingenuity  will  be  pleased  to 
fabricate  against  the  husband.  The  most  usual  sub- 
ject of  complaint  is,  that  the  gallant  husband  keeps  a 
mistress,  or  at  least  squanders  away  his  money  in  de- 
bauchery, keeps  his  family  in  penury,  makes  his 
wife  unhappy,  offers  violence  to  her  person,  &c.  &c. 
Of  all  this  she  is  not  required  to  give  any  proof.  She 
is  credited  upon  her  bare  word.  According  to  the 
rank  her  husband  sustains  in  society,  he  is  either 
summoned  to  receive  a  sharp  reprimand,  or  he  is 
immediately  clapped  in  prison,  and  there  he  remains 
until  his  wife  condescends  to  ask  his  release.  If  the 
husband  complains  of  the  misdemeanour  of  his  wife, 
she  has  only  to  pretend  to  be  highly  offended  at  a 
charge  which  amounts  to  an  attack  upon  her  honour, 
and  the  poor  husband  is  condemned  to  silence  to 
teach  him  more  discretion  ;  nay,  he  may  think  he 
has  made  a  lucky  escape,  if  he  does  not  undergo  the 
punishment  that  was  merited  by  his  wife. 

The  Spaniard,  if  he  is  married,  must  not  under- 
take a  journey  without  the  express  consent  of  his 
wife,  and  without  providing  for  her  subsistence 
during  his  absence.  If  he  does  not  return  precisely 
on  the  day  appointed  at  his  departure,  the  magis- 
trates, on  the  first  application  of  the  wife,  order  the 
husband  to  return  to  his  forlorn  spouse.  Were  he  in 
Chili  or  in  California,  home  he  must  go,  whether  his 


business  is  finished  or  unfinished :  his  wife  has  spoken 
the  word,  and  he  must  comply.  Every  military 
man,  every  officer  of  administration  or  justice,  if  a 
married  man,  leaves  to  his  wife,  who  does  not  follow 
him,  a  proportion  of  his  pay  never  less  than  one 
third;  if  he  does  not  do  it  with  a  good  grace,  the 
treasurer  will  be  obliging  enough  to  make  a  reten- 
tion of  the  sum. 

There  are,  however,  a  great  many  Spanish  fami- 
lies, and  I  may  even  say  the  majority  of  them,  whose 
heads  enjoy  peace  and  happiness,  setting,  in  their  con- 
duct, an  example  of  virtue  to  their  children. 

Apparent  submission  of  the  Children  to  their  Parents. 

This  people  are  so  much  accustomed  to  give  an  air 
of  frankness  and  candour  to  all  their  transactions,  that, 
to  judge  from  appearances,  one  would  pronounce, 
that  there  was  no  country  in  the  world,  where  filial 
respect  is  better  established.  Every  morning  before 
they  rise  from  their  bed,  and  every  evening,  before 
they  lie  down,  the  children  of  the  Spaniards,  whe- 
ther rich  or  poor,  whether  white  or  black,  whether 
free  or  slaves,  crave  and  receive  upon  their  knees  the 
benediction  of  father  and  of  mother,  and  kiss,  before 
they  stand  up,  the  hand  that  dispenses  it, 

The  same  ceremony  is  repeated  during  the  day, 
every  time  that  the  father,  the  mother,  the  uncle,  the 
aunt,  or  the  children  return  from  abroad  and  enter 
the  house.  They  use,  likewise,  with  their  parents,  a 
manner  of  speaking  expressive  of  the  greatest  humili- 
ty and  dependence.  They  honour  them  with  sit 


132 

mcrced  which  is  not  customary,  in  society,  but  from 
slaves  to  their  masters,  or  from  frcedmcn  to  whites 
of  distinction.  But  all  these  homages  are,  in  general, 
merely  external.  They  flow  less  from  sentiment, 
than  custom,  which  has  ranked  them  with  the  eti- 
quettes or  ceremonies,  an  article  of  manners  suffi- 
ciently numerous  and  curious  amongst  the  Spaniards 
to  demand  our  particular  notice. 

% 
Etiquettes  or  Ceremonies. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  we  considered  the  trouble- 
some laws  of  etiquette  as  an  object  of  ridicule,  al- 
though the  Spaniards  still  entertain  as  much  respect 
for  them,  as  we  did  a  century  ago.  Whoever  violates 
them  passes  amongst  them  for  an  ill-bred,  unmanner- 
ly mortal,  par  hombre  sin  trato.  Their  laws,  howe^s  cr, 
are  so  amazingly  numerous,  that  without  meaning 
any  harm,  one  may  happen  to  miss  some  of  them. — 
Woe  to  him,  whose  memory  is  so  treacherous  ;  for 
he  has  no  mercy  to  expect  upon  that  article. 

All  Spaniards,  and  in  imitation  of  them,  all  who 
express  themselves  in  the  Spanish  language,  make 
use  of  the  third  person  of  the  verb  instead  of  the  se- 
cond ;  the  you  is  only  used  in  the  second  person  plu- 
ral and  in  sermons  and  public  discourses.  In  con- 
versation they  salute  with  your  grace,  vuestra  merced, 
which,  by  contraction,  is  pronounced  ustcd. 

The  canons,  the  provisor,  the  members  of  the  au- 
dience, and  treasurer,  have,  in  conversation  and 
writing,  the  title  of  your  lordship  vuestra  sennoria, 
which  is  pronounced  ousia.  The  bishop  has  the  ti- 
tle of  sennoria  ihistrisima* 


133 

With  sennor  they  honour  every  person  indiscrimi- 
nately, except  in  public  acts,  in  which  that  distinc- 
tion is  reserved  for  those  who  have  the  title  of  lord- 
ship. The  don  nearly  corresponds  with  our  de,  with 
this  difference,  that  the  Spaniards,  till  a  very  late  pe- 
riod, have  prostituted  it  much  less  than  we  have  done. 
At  present  it  is  given  to  every  white  who  makes  a 
tolerably  decent  appearance. 

The  stranger  who  arrives,  as  well  as  the  person 
who  returns  home  after  a  long  absence,  must  wait  for 
the  compliment  of  a  visit.  In  their  turn  they  visit  only 
those  who  did  them  the  honour  of  calling  upon  them, 
excepting  their  superiors,  who  likewise  frequently 
make  the  lirst  advance.  This  duty  is  performed  ei- 
ther personally  or  by  writing,  or  even  by  a  simple 
message.  Not  to  be  apprized  of  the  arrival  of  a  stran- 
ger, or  the  return  of  the  absent,  is  a  crime  of  high- 
treason  against  the  lawrs  of  etiquette,  which  establish- 
es between  the  person  who  should  pay  and  the  per- 
son who  should  receive  the  visit,  a  coldness  that 
borders  upon  enmity.  The  impression  made  by 
such  an  oversight,  is  hardly  to  be  effaced  by  the  most 
punctilious  reparation. 

The  rules  of  civility  are  violated,  .when  a  person 
changes  his  place  of  residence  without  giving  intima- 
tion of  it  to  all  the  neighbours  of  the  house  he  leaves, 
as  well  as  to  those  amongst  whom  he  is  going.  This 
notice  is  commonly  given  by  a  circular  card,  in  which 
they  express  to  the  former  the  regret  which  they  feel 
in  removing  from  a  place,  whose  neighbourhood  has 
always  been  so  agreeable  to  them,  informing  them  at 
the  same  time,  that  they  transfer  their  residence  to 
such  a  house,  and  v/il!  be  always  ready  to  execute  the 


134 

orders  of  the  person  to  whom  the  attention  is  paid  ; 
to  the  latter  they  speak  of  the  pleasure  they  anticipate 
from  fixing  their  abode  amongst  such  honourable 
neighbours,  and  beg  to  be  permitted  to  make  a  ten- 
der of  their  services.  A  satisfactory  answer  or  per- 
sonal visit  is  punctually  expected  from  every  neigh- 
bour, in  failure  of  which  the  families  live  on  the 
footing  not  only  of  strangers,  but  of  enemies.  \Vhen 
a  marriage  takes  place,  the  parties  concerned,  advise 
all  their  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the  connection 
which  they  have  just  formed.  This  communication 
is  made  either  by  the  joint  visit  of  the  bridegroom 
and  his  father-in-law,  or  by  cards,  in  which  the  VOIM": 

w  w  o 

couple  testify  their  warmest  attachment  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  person  addressed.  The  same  formality  is 
observed  on  the  birth  of  a  child.  As  soon  as  the 
child  is  ushered  into  the  world,  the  father  informs  all 
his  neighbours,  that  his  spouse  has  blessed  him  with 
an  accession  to  his  family,  and  th.it  the  young  guest 
is  another  added  to  the  number  of  those  servants  who 
are  always  readv  to  receive  the  commands  of  the  per- 
son who  is  thus  informed  of  the  event.  All  these  inti- 
mations are  repaid  with  visits,  otherwise  a  very  serious 
misunderstanding  will  unavoidably  be  the  conse- 
quence. 

It  is  deemed  a  trespass  against  the  rules  of  deeenc} 
to  neglect  visiting  any  acquaintance  who  is  confined 
to  the  house  on  account  of  indisposition,  whether 
dangerous  or  slight.  The  convalescent,  in  return, 
thinks  it  a  sacred  dutv  to  devote  his  first  visits  abroad 
to  the  pcrso:i  who  has  honoured  him  with  these  marks 
of  attention.  All  Spaniards  of  either  sex  who  rank 


135 

above  the  common,  on  the  festival  of  their  tutelar 
saint,  receive  visits  from  all  their  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances, but  particularly  from  those  who  are  de- 
pendent upon  them,  or  who  have  an  interest  in  con- 
ciliating their  favour.  There  is  such  a  continual 
resort  to  their  houses  on  such  occasions,  as  exactly 
resembles  our  ancient  visits  on  New-year's  day.  As 
the  host  is  not  always  visible,  and  as  it  is  necessary 
to  know  those  who  discharge  this  duty,  they  place  in 
the  corridor,  or  parlour,  a  table  covered  with  tapes- 
try, upon  which  they  leave  an  inkstand,  pen  and  pa- 
per. Every  visitant  is  obliged  to  write  his  name 
upon  the  list,  which  becomes  a  proof  of  the  attention 
and  esteem  of  those  whose  names  are  enrolled. — 
These  visits  are  most  convenient,  as  they  do  not  re- 
quire to  be  returned  till  the  days  of  the  like  festivals 
of  the  respective  visitants.  The  neglecting,  or  for- 
getting of  an  obscure  saint,  whose  name  is  perhaps 
not  to  be  found  in  the  calender,  excites  animosities 
not  easy  to  be  pacified.  Good-breeding  among  the 
Spmiards  requires,  that  the  visitant,  before  going 
into  the  house,  make  some  noise  at  the  door,  in  or- 
der to  give  notice  to  the  family  of  his  arrival,  and  that 
he  should  not  advance  a  step  farther,  till  he  receives 
permission  from  within.  The  silence  of  the  person 
who  would  go  in  without  any  ceremony,  would  be 
liable  to  a  very  unfavourable  construction.  He  would 
be  suspected  of  the  rude  intention  of  coming  on  the 
family  by  surprise,  or  overhearing  their  conversation, 
before  his  arrival  was  discovered. 

The  ladies  never  get  up  to  receive  any  visits  what- 
ever. If  they  are  in  their  apartments  when  a  visit  is 
announced,  they  do  not  permit  the  door  of  the  cham- 


136 

ber,  where  the  visitant  is  to  be  introduced,  to  be  open- 
ed, till  they  are  seated  in  their  sofas,  and  think  them- 
selves in  the  attitude  proper  for  receiving  company. 
This  custom  is  rigidly  adhered  to,  without  respect 
to  rank,  sex,  or  intimacy. 

The  ladies  never  visit  one  another  without  giving 
previous  notice.  They  send  early  in  the  morning,  a 
recado  or  message,  to  ask  permission  to  pay  their 
visit.  These  visits  always  take  place  in  the  afternoon, 
from  five  o'clock  till  night,  or  from  the  time  the  bell 
rings  for  the  Angelas  or  evening  prayer,  till  eight 
o'clock.  The  gentlemen  rarely  accompany  the  ladies 
upon  these  occasions.  They  go  without  any  escort 
attended  only  by  two  or  three  servant  girls,  dressed  in 
black  petticoats  and  white  mantles.  According  to  the 
law  of  etiquette,  one  must  appear  altogether  munifi- 
cent to  the  person  with  whom  he  converses.  If  you 
tell  a  Spaniard,  that  he  has  a  fine  watch,  a  fine  dia- 
mond, a  fine  cane,  a  fine  sword,  a  fine  coat,  he  always 
replies,  "  Yes,  sir,  at  your  service;"  making  a  move- 
ment, by  way  of  grimace,  as  if  he  would  give  it  you. 
In  the  same  way  he  acts  when  his  house,  his  chil- 
dren, or  his  lady  is  the  subject  of  conversation ;  "  all 
"these,"  says  the  Spaniard,  in  the  same  canting  phra- 
seology, "  all  these  are  yours,  sir,  who  admire  them." 

The  costume  of  etiquette,  for  visits  as  well  as  fes- 
tivals, is  a  taffeta,  satin,  or  cut  velvet  coat  and  breeches. 
Cloth  is  never  used  unless  the  person  is  in  mourning  ; 
and  then  to  make  it  appear  more  sumptuous,  it  is 
adorned  with  rich  embroidery.  The  waistcoat  must 
be  of  gold  tissue,  or  at  least  of  silk  covered  with  em- 
broidery— the  liat  cocked.  All  this  fine  attire  would 
still  signify  nothing,  if  it  was  not  accompanied  with 


137 

&  silver,  or  in  case  the  person  is  rich,  a  gold-hiked 
sword. 

Several  proceedings  of  government  are  likewise 
regulated  by  etiquette,  or  rather,  are  in  their  nature, 
but  a  mere  ceremonial.  xVmongst  these  are  the  king, 
queen,  and  prince  of  Asturia's  birth-days,  and  the 
festivals  of  the  king's  tutelar  saint.  These  sorts  of 
ceremony  they  call  dias  de  besamenos,  (days  of  kiss- 
ing hands.)  They  are,  like  all  the  other  Spanish  fes- 
tivals, purely  religious.  All  the  military  officers,  and 
members  of  the  audience,  repair  to  the  governor  and 
captain-general's  houses.  From  the  government- 
house  they  go  to  church.  The  captain-general,  as 
president  of  the  audience,  heads  the  procession  along 
with  the  regent  and  oidors.  The  military  follow. 
They  join  in  a  solemn  Mass  and  Te  Deum,  during 
which  a  detachment  of  regular  troops  make  three  dis- 
charges. They  return  in  the  same  order  to  the  go- 
vernment house.  Immediately  after,  all  the  civil  and 
religious  bodies  go  to  compliment  the  captain-gene- 
ral, as  the  representative  of  the  king.  There  occurred 
some  difficulty  in  ascertaining  whether  the  bishop  was 
bound  to  pay  that  visit.  The  king  decided  in  the  af- 
firmative ;  but  to  mollify  the  asperity  of  that  proceed- 
ing, the  same  order  requires,  that  the  moment  the 
prelate  shall  have  discharged  this  duty,  the  captain- 
general,  with  all  his  retinue,  shall  go  and  visit  the 
bishop  as  prince  of  the  church,  and  this  is  performed 
with  the  greater  punctuality,  as  the  Spaniards  are  not 
to  be  trifled  with  on  the  subject  of  etiquette. 

It  is  a  very  natural  reflection,  that  in  a  country 
where  compliments  now  in  full  tide,  frankness  should 

VOL.  I.  Y 


138 

he  at  a  very  low  ebb ;  for  men  who  have  composed 
for  themselves  a  code  of  laws  for  the  regulation  of  all 
intercourse  public  and  private  ;  who  see  one  another, 
not  out  of  friendship  but  formality,  are  far  from  dis- 
covering a  spirit  of  harmony,  union  and  benevo- 
Lnce.  Every  one  lives  in  a  distant  unsocial  manner, 
and  when  they  do  make  any  approaches,  they  are 
chiefly  actuated  by  motives  of  policy,  not  by  those  of 
cordial  attachment.  In  a  community,  where  the  whole 
intercourse  of  life  is  conducted  upon  principles  of  for- 
mality and  mere  outward  show,  none  of  those  advan- 
tages can  be  enjoyed  which  are  attached  to  the  social 
and  civilized  state.  To  this  defect  in  the  manners  of 
the  Spaniards,  may  perhaps  be  attributed  that  pro- 
pensity which  they  discover  to  lodge  criminal  infor- 
mations against  one  another  ;  those  which  respect 
smuggling,  are  the  only  ones  reprobated  by  public 
opinion.  All  others  are  regarded  as  indifferent  and 
sometimes  meritorious.  Among  the  Spaniards  in 
America,  you  never  see,  as  in  Europe,  a  company  of 
young  ladies  decently  assemble,  in  order  to  amuse 
themselves  with  innocent  diversions,  by  which  means 
an  opportunity  is  afforded  of  contracting  friendships 
and  acquaintance,  at  an  early  period,  which  frequent- 
ly last  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives  ;  not  even  the 
young  men  are  observed  to  associate  in  parties  of 
pleasure.  No  juvenile  balls  are  given  at  the  expense 
of  the  young  gentry  ;  no  social  entertainments  known, 
where  every  member  of  the  cheerful  club  is  at  once 
landlord  and  guest ;  where  frolicksome  gaiety  creates 
a  kind  oi'  sympathy,  which  time  can  never  impair, 
nor  the  reverses  of  life  extinguish. 


139 
Their  bad  Effects. 

The  want  of  free  communication  and  friendly  at- 
tachment give  rise  to  a  secret  and  dissembled  jealousy 
which  is  provoked  by  the  prosperity  of  another,  but 
which  policy  takes  care  to  conceal  under  appearances 
calculated  to  impose.  Hence  the  reason  may  naturally 
be  assigned  why  the  Spaniards  are  in  reality  so  sus- 
ceptible of  the  malignant  passions,  yet  in  appearance 
are  so  placid  and  composed.  An  indirect  or  un- 
guarded speech,  an  equivocal  expression  with  regard 
to  the  antiquity  of  his  family,  his  nobility,  or  the  na- 
ture of  titles,  throws  the  Spaniard  into  a  transport  of 
rage,  and  kindles  in  his  bosom  the  desire  of  revenge. 
He  bears  merriment  more  patiently  at  his  own  ex- 
pense than  at  that  of  his  ancestors.  As  soon  as  he  finds 
himself  grossly  offended  on  those  very  delicate  points, 
he  has  recourse  to  law.  The  duel,  condemned  by 
sound  reason,  and  proscribed  by  the  laws  of  all  go- 
vernments, yet  every  where  supported  by  public 
opinion,  except  in  the  Spanish  dominions,  where  it 
perfectly  corresponds  with  the  rigor  of  the  laws  ;  the 
duel  is  never  employed  among  the  Spaniards  to  atone 
for  injuries.  When  a  rupture  has  once  taken  place 
they  are  never  disposed  to  any  sincere  reconciliation, 
nor  generously  to  consign  the  offence  to  oblivion.  As 
soon  as  a  Spaniard  has  vowed  hatred  against  any  one, 
it  is  for  life,  and  according  to  the  importance  of  the 
cause,  which  has  excited  his  resentment,  it  is  trans- 
mitted with  more  or  less  violence  to  succeeding  gene- 
rations. But  although  this  vindictive  disposition  does 
not  impel  them  to  any  sanguinary  measures,  it  keeps 


140 

them  perpetually  engaged  in  vexatious  law  suits,  by 
which  they  beeome  a  prey  to  the  harpies  of  a  profes- 
sion, which,  with  all  the  subtilty  of  chicane,  make  it 
their  object  to  multiply  litigious  pleadings,  perplex  the 
simplest  causes,  and  protract  the  decisions  of  justice, 
in  order  to  involve  their  clients  in  greater  expenses. 
There  are  very  few  Spanish  families  of  any  note,  who 
are  not  engaged  in  several  law  suits,  which  entirely 
turn  upon  points  of  personal  pride. 

7726-  Spaniards  arc  Litigious. 

The  Spaniards  of  America  teaze  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice by  the  frequency  of  their  applications,  as  much  on 
account  of  their  interests,  as  their  prerogatives.  They 
seem  to  be  continually  upon  the  watch  to  seize  an  op- 
portunity of  engaging  in  a  law  suit.  They  are  pas- 
sionately fond  of  judicial  investigations,  and  this  pas- 
sion, which  ruins  themselves,  furnishes  abundant 
subsistence  to  a  prodigious  number  of  rapacious 
scribes,  whose  reputation  is  advanced  in  proportion 
to  the  talent  they  have  acquired  of  starting  incidental 
obstacles,  that  is  to  say,  of  ingrafting  process  upon 
process  in  endless  succcession.  This  I  affirm  with 
the  frankness  and  impartiality  which  dictate  my 
thoughts,  and  guide  my  pen  ;  there  is  not  a  country 
in  the  world  which  abounds  so  much  in  law  suits,  as 
Spanish  America.  Above  all  the  rest,  the  soil  of  the 
island  of  Cuba  is  pre-eminent  for  this  species  of  pro- 
duction. One  would  hardly  think  it  credible,  that 
in  the  city  of  Havanna  alone,  where  there  was  no 
court  of  appeal,  there  were  computed  to  be,  in  1792. 


141 

seventy-two  advocates,  independently  of  those  who 
were  scattered  over  the  other  cities  and  villages, 
amounting  to  thirty-four,  and  making,  with  the  seven- 
ty-two of  the  Havanna,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and 
six  advocates.  The  entire  population  did  not  exceed, 
at  that  same  period,  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  twenty-one  souls,  reckoning 
freemen  and  slaves,  and  the  territorial  exports  did  not 
amount  to  the  value  of  5,000,000  milled  dollars, 
whilst  St.  Domingo,  with  a  population  of  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  souls,  and  produce  to  the 
value  of  27,008,000  milled  dollars,  had,  in  the  two 
councils,  and  over  the  whole  colony,  but  thirty 
six  advocates.  From  this  litigious  spirit  of  the 
Spaniards  arises  that  swarm  of  vermin  that  sur- 
round the  tribunals  in  order  to  devour  the  substance 
of  families,  which  the  restlessness  and  personal  pride 
of  the  possessors  expose  to  all  the  arts  of  chicane. — 
To  the  facility  with  which  a  livelihood  is  gained  in 
this  manner  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  which  requires 
no  other  talent  than  that  of  sophistry,  is  to  be  ascribed 
the  avidity  with  which  so  many  enter  into  that  pro* 
fession,  and  the  aversion  which  is  generally  discover- 
ed for  agricultural  labour.  From  the  enormous  sums 
which  the  cultivator  spends  in  litigation,  necessarily 
result  the  declining  and  ruinous  condition  of  the  plan- 
tations. Many  persons,  whose  characters  inspire 
confidence,  estimate  the  expenses  of  every  kind  which 
are  annually  made  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  au- 
dience of  Caraccas,  at  1,500,000  milled  dollars.  I 
have  seen  none,  who  stated  the  mat  less  than  1,200,000. 
If  a  happy  reform  could  reduce  both  that  expense 
and  the  number  of  those  who  depend  upon  it  to  one 


142 

third  of  what  they  arc  at  present,  agriculture,  com- 
merce and  morals,  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  the 
change. 

The  Spaniards  are  extremely  prudent  in  their  under- 
takings. 

It  is  a  pretty  striking  inconsistency  in  the  cha- 
racter of  the  Creole  and  European  Spaniards,  estab- 
lished in  America,  that  by  their  ordinary  behaviour  in 
society  they  do  not  appear  to  verify  what  their  pas- 
sion for  litigation  would  seem  to  announce.  Instead 
of  being  petulant,  hasty,  and  passionate,  they  are- 
mild,  kind,  affable  and  excessively  polite.  They 
are  not  remarkable  for  boldness  in  their  affairs,  much 
less  for  rashness.  All  their  undertakings  are  con- 
ducted with  that  kind  of  timidity  which  they  call  pru- 
dence. They  leave  little  to  chance,  or  to  say  the 
truth,  they  leave  nothing  to  it.  Hence  it  happens  that 
their  successes  never  excite  astonishment,  nor  their 
reverses  despondency.  If  they  do  not  amass  rapid 
fortunes,  their  ruin  is  neither  frequent  nor  precipitate, 
It  is  true,  ambition  would  not  be  satisfied  with  such 
moderate  maxims  of  conduct.  They  have,  however, 
:in  uir  of  philosophy,  which  gives  them  the  appear- 
ance of  wisdom  ;  at  least  we  cannot  deny,  that  to  the 
citizen,  they  present  the  advantage  of  preserving  the 
tranquillity  of  his  own  breast,  to  the  slate,  assurance 
of  the  stability  of  the  government,  and  to  the  mother 
country,  the  certainty  of  the  duration  of  her  sove- 
reignty. In  r ict ,  it  is  not  in  the  natural  order  of  things, 
that  men,  habituated  to  grope  in  all  the  transactions  of 


143 

private  life,  should  so  far  depart  from  the  usual  tenor 
of  their  conduct,  as  to  lift  up  their  profane  hands 
against  a  government,  which  they  were  accustomed 
from  ther  infancy  to  regard  as  sacred.  Again,  if  by 
an  extraordinary  event,  there  should  start  up  one  of 
those  rare  geniuses,  which  nature  produces  in 
political  convulsions,  who  would  join  enterprise  to 
talents,  and  ambition  to  enterprise,  his  disorganizing 
efforts  would  prove  abortive  from  the  indifference  of 
the  people,  from  the  religious  respect  which  they  en- 
tertain for  the  laws  and  magistrates,  and  particularly 
from  the  interest  which  binds  to  the  royal  authority, 
all  the  Spanish  colonists,  either  on  account  of  the 
offic.es  which  they  hold  or  solicit,  or  the  distinctions 
which  they  expect  to  be  conferred  upon  them. 

Conspiracy  of  Venezuela. 

Notwithstanding  the  powerful  supports  of  the  Spa- 
nish sovereignty  in  the  West- Indies,  it  was  in  the 
year  1787,  on  the  point  of  experiencing  a  dangerous 
concussion  in  the  province  of  Venezuela.  It  is  true3 
that  a  multiplicity'  of  circumstances  tended,  at  that 
period,  to  form  a  conjuncture  which  is  never  likely 
to  recur,  and  combined  to  give  the  conspiracy  the, 
serious  character  which  it  assumed. 

Causes. 

The  principles  blazoned  on  the  victorious  standard 
of  the  French  Republic,  in  its  early  career,  too  sim- 
ple not  to  be  understood,  too  natural  not  to  be  adopt 


144 

eel,  were  displayed,  in  order  to  be  admired  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world.  The  morality  of  the  objects 
which  they  contemplated,  was  so  noble,  so  persua- 
sive, that  without  the  aid  of  experience,  which  has 
demonstrated  their  defects,  human  wisdom  would 
never  have  resolved  to  arrest  their  progress  or  pre- 
scribe their  limits.  It  is  not,  then,  at  all  astonishing1, 
that  in  Terra- Firma  they  had  kindled  a  flame,  in  the 
breasts  of  some  characters  who,  constitutionally  ardent, 
and  participating  the  electric  shock  which  then  per- 
vaded the  greater  part  of  the  world,  seriously  con- 
ceived the  project  of  reducing  them  to  practice.  The 
opportunity  might  appear  the  more  favourable,  as 
Spain,  exhausted  by  the  Avar  which  she  had  lately 
supported  against  France,  and  exhausting  herself  still 
more  by  that  in  which  she  was  actually  engaged 
against  England,  found  herself  too  much  cramped  in 
her  European  operations,  and  too  closely  beset  by 
the  ardour  of  the  navy  of  her  enemy,  to  think  it  ad- 
viseable,  even  if  it  were  practicable,  to  expose  her 
own  coasts,  daily  menaced  by  the  enemy,  by  with- 
drawing her  forces,  and  sending  them  to  America,  in 
order  to  defend  her  rights  from  attack  and  her  sove- 
reignty from  outrage.  It  was,  on  the  other  hand,  pro- 
bable, that  England  would  protect,  in  Terra-Firma, 
insurrection  and  disorganization,  which,  from  a  poli- 
cy not  easy  to  be  accounted  for,  she  has,  during  the 
last  war,  every  where  provoked,  where  her  arms 
were  not  rendered  subservient  to  the  gratification  of 
her  ardent  passion  for  conquest. 

Another  more   immediate  cause  might   afford  to 
the  factious  the  hope  of  being  able  to  engage  the  city 


145 

of  Caraccas  in  a  revolution.  The  seeds  of  it  seem  to 
have  been  planted  in  1796,  by  a  measure  of  police, 
which  was  executed  in  so  shocking  a  manner  as  to 
rouse  into  opposition  all  the  unhappy  persons  whom 
it  oppressively  affected.  The  government  was  already 
assailed  by  detached  crowds  of  people,  and  would, 
in  a  ..short  time,  have  been  attacked  by  the  whole 
multitude,  had  not  the  captain-general,  Carbonel, 
in  opposition  to  the  sentiments  of  the  audience,  taken 
the  decisive  resolution  to  redress  the  grievances  of 
the  people,  because  he  thought  their  complaints  were 
founded  on  justice.  This  chief,  by  the  wisdom  of  his 
arrangements,  had  the  glory  to  appease  the  tumult, 
quiet  the  clamours,  and  dissipate  the  uneasiness, 
which  generally  prevailed.  All  returned  to  order,  but 
it  was  possible  some  animosity  might  still  have  re- 
mained. 

Conspiracy  formed  by  three  Prisoners  of  State. 

Such  was  the  disposition  of  men  and  things,  when 
three  state-prisoners,  condemned,  in  Spain,  for  revo- 
lutionary crimes,  to  be  shut  up  for  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  in  the  casemates  of  Goyara,  arrived  at  the 
place  of  their  destination.  They  all  had  the  talent  of 
persuasion,  but  one  of  them  possessed  it  in  a  very 
eminent  degree.  They  announced  themselves  as 
martyrs  of  liberty,  and  victims  of  tyranny ;  and  by  fre- 
quently repeating  their  story,  succeeded  in  giving  it  an 
air  of  probability,  so  as  to  interest  in  their  fate  those 
who  were  entrusted  with  their  keeping.  They  obtain- 
ed, in  their  confinement,  all  the  indulgence  which 

VOL.  I.  z 


146 

could  be  given  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  sur- 
rounded them.  They  were  permitted  to  come  out 
of  their  casemates  in  order  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the 
air,  and  without  any  restraint  to  address  an  audience 
well  disposed  to  listen  to  their  communications.  The 
confidence  and  docility  which  they  observed  in  the 
behaviour  of  their  keepers  inspired  boldness,  and 
foreseeing  that  their  seditious  doctrine  might  at  least 
be  the  means  of  liberating  them  from  the  punishment 
to  which  they  were  condemned,  they  formed  the  re- 
solution of  realizing  their  revolutionary  maxims  in 
the  province  of  Venezuela.  Their  design  was  at  first 
confined  to  the  knowledge  of  a  small  number  of  per- 
sons, whose  principles  were  perfectly  adapted  to  such 
an  enterprise.  They  artfully  sounded  those  whose 
opinions  were  not  known,  in  order  to  avoid  the  danger 
of  being  denounced,  and  they  admitted  proselytes  of 
all  colours,  classes,  occupations  and  conditions  of  life, 
that  the  insurrection  might  be  general,  and  solely  di- 
rected against  the  mother  country. 

The  state-prisoners,  in  the  beginning,  did  not  doubt 
of  the  possibility  of  success.  They  had  reserved 
for  themselves,  as  might  be  expected,  the  first  offi- 
ces of  the  new  republic.  But,  when  they  observed 
that  their  enthusiasm  was  not  communicated  to  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  that  the  number  of  the  con- 
spirators did  not  increase,  that  the  cold  and  listless 
character  of  the  people  of  Venezuela,  was  not  sus- 
ceptible of  any  degree  of  effervescence,  they  ceased 
to  indulge  hopes  of  deriving  any  other  advantage 
from  the  sedition  which  they  fomented,  than  to  effect 
their  escape,  and,  from  that  period,  to  this  object 


147 

alone  they  directed  all  their  attention.  It  was  not 
difficult  for  them  to  persuade  their  partizans,  that  the 
revolutionary  principles,  which  they  were  the  instru- 
ments of  disseminating  in  the  province,  would  accel- 
erate and  insure  the  desired  event.  This  prospect 
afforded  sufficient  inducements  for  adopting  such 
measures  for  their  release  as  were  the  more  likely  to 
succeed,  from  their  keepers  being  pnrticularly  de- 
voted to  their  cause,  and  attached  to  their  persons. 
All  the  use  which  they  made  of  their  liberty  was  to 
keep  themselves  concealed,  and,  in  the  obscurity  of 
that  concealment,  to  make  their  last  efforts  to  give  to 
the  conspiracy  that  consistency,  which  alone  could 
insure  a  happy  result.  About  two  months  elapsed, 
whilst  they  were  making  these  new  attempts ;  but, 
instead  of  advancing,  there  appeared,  on  the  contra- 
ry,  in  the  conduct  of  some  of  those  who  were  most 
easily  persuaded  to  embark  in  the  design,  a  certain 
lukewarmness  which  betrayed  repentance  more  than 
resolution.  The  prisoners  of  state,  seeing  that  a  com- 
plete discovery  was  now  unavoidable,  thought  only 
of  consulting  their  own  safety.  They  pretended  that 
it  was  indispensable,  that  they  should  go  themselves 
and  communicate  their  project  to  the  English  inha- 
bitants of  the  neighbouring  islands,  and  ask  their  as- 
sistance to  carry  it  into  execution.  They  were  per- 
mitted, according  to  their  desire,  to  take  their  depar- 
ture in  a  clandestine  manner,  and  I  suppose  I  may 
save  myself  the  trouble  of  informing  the  reader,  that 
they  never  thought  proper  to  re-appear. 


148 
Discovery  of  the  Conspiracy. 

At  length,  on  the  15th  July,  1797,  the  secret, 
which  was  so  miraculously  withheld  for  several 
months,  transpired.  All  was  formally  disclosed  to 
the  government. 

A  people  less  attached  to  their  laws,  would  have 
found  it  very  difficult  to  determine  what  resolution  to 
take  at  such  a  crisis  ;  for  if  the  contagion  had  made 
any  considerable  progress,  a  recourse  to  violent  mea- 
sures presented  the  disagreeable  alternative  of  driving 
the  conspirators  into  open  rebellion,  and  exciting 
greater  terror  and  alarm,  by  giving  the  signal  for 
explosion;  on  the  other  hand,  by  adopting  the  more 
moderate  resolution  of  watching  their  motions,  and 
waiting  for  the  event,  they  exposed  themselves  to 
another  alternative  not  less  disagreeable,  of  giving  to 
the  faction  time  to  prepare  themselves  for  striking  a 
surer  and  more  decisive  blow.  The  former  mode 
was  preferred,  and  produced  the  desired  effect. 

Measures  of  Government. 

As  the  seat  of  the  conspiracy  was  at  Goayra,  no 
time  was  lost  in  dispatching  orders  there  to  imprison 
all  those  against  whom  information  had  been  lodged  ; 
the  same  proceeding  took  place  at  Caraccas.  These 
first  arrests  produced  submission  and  obedience, 
instead  of  resistance.  The  two  principal  ringlead- 
ers disappeared.  One  of  them  was  captain  in  the  re- 
gular troops  but  retired  from  service  ;  the  other  cor- 
regidor  of  the  village  of  Macuto,  near  Goayra.  Some 


149 

made  their  appearance  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  pardon  which  the  audience  had  the  good  policy 
to  tender  to  all  those  would,  make  an  open  confession 
of  their  crime,  and  an  avowal  of  their  sincere  repent- 
ance. We  are  sorry  to  say  that  this  pardon  as  ex- 
tended, was  neither  so  generous  nor  so  absolute  as 
had  been  promised.  The  people,  as  if  thrown  into 
a  state  of  stupefaction,  respectfully  allowed  the  tri- 
bunals of  justice  to  execute  their  functions,  and  ex- 
ercised towards  the  guilty  that  share  of  sympathy, 
which  no  mortal  endowed  with  common  sensibility 
ever  refuses  to  the  errors  and  misfortunes  of  his  fel- 
low-creatures. 

All  the  examinations  which  the  criminals  under- 
went ;  all  the  depositions  of  witnesses,  proved  that  the 
insurrection  contemplated  the  destruction  of  the  ex- 
isting government,  and  upon  its  ruins  the  erection  of 
a  republican  form  of  government,  the  total  abjura- 
tion of  the  Spanish  sovereignty,  and  a  proclama- 
tion of  independence.  Their  intention  was  to  corrupt 
the  troops,  seize  the  persons  of  their  chiefs,  and  after 
accomplishing  their  object,  by  every  means  which 
energy  could  dictate,  invite  the  other  provinces  to 
imitate  their  example. 

If  this  dreadful  project  had  not  miscarried,  the 
Spanish  possessions  would  have  been  totally  ruined ; 
they  would  have  gradually  experienced  the  same  dis- 
asters, the  same  devastation,  the  same  convulsions, 
by  which  St.  Domingo  has  been  afflicted,  whilst  the 
powers  of  government  would  be  alternately  usurped 
by  the  faction,  which  circumstances  had  rendered 
predominant.  Such  an  enormity  amply  deserved 


150 

that  the  penalties  of  the  law  should  be  signally  inflict- 
ed upon  those  who  were  stained  with  its  guilt.  — 
Heavens  !  in  what  circumstances  is  the  law  to  be 
armed  with  terror  and  vengeance,  unless  in  cases 
where  the  disturbers  of  the  public  peace  threaten  to 
overturn  the  government  upon  which  depends  the 
safety  of  all,  in  order  to  introduce  anarchy,  which 
affords  security  to  none,  and  for  the  tribunals  of  jus. 
tice  substitutes  those  of  blood. 


It  is  with  great  satisfaction  that  I  relate  a  trait 
of  clemency  wrhich  does  honour  to  the  reign  of  Charles 
IV.  Scarcely  was  the  monarch  informed  of  the  event 
which  hud  taken  place  at  Caraccas,  when  he  dispatch- 
ed to  the  audience  a  secret  order  to  recommend  to 
them  to  refrain  from  sanguinary  measures,  to  exer- 
cise towards  those  who  were  concerned  in  that  affair, 
all  the  lenity  which  their  former  fidelity  deserved, 
and  not  to  punish  as  a  crime,  what  might  be  only  the 
effect  of  seduction  and  ignorance.  This  order  threw 
the  audience  into  perplexity.  It  obliged  them  to  de- 
part from  the  system  of  rigour  ;  consequently  there 
wi  re  fewer  victims,  but  the  intention  of  the  king 
was,  that  there  should  be  none. 

Prosecutions  of  the  Tribunals. 

The  prosecutions  were  conducted  in  so  dilatory  a 
manner,  and  the  audience  discovered  so  much  back- 


151 

wardness  in  pronouncing  their  decisions,  that  the  tar- 
diness of  their  proceedings  were  considered  as  a  pre- 
lude to  an  amnesty.  This  opinion  gained  so  much 
ground,  that  one  of  the  ringleaders,  who  had  fled 
from  arrest,  did  not  hesitate  to  abandon  the  asylum 
which  he  had  sought  in  the  islands  then  in  posses- 
sion of  the  enemy,  and  to  return  two  years  after  to 
his  family  :  so  fully  was  he  persuaded  that  he  could 
do  it  without  danger.  He  was  mistaken,  and  his  er- 
ror cost  him  his  life.  On  the  first  intelligence,  which 
the  government  received  of  the  return  of  the  cor- 
regidor  of  Macuto,  they  made  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments to  discover  and  arrest  him.  Thus  betrayed 
by  his  own  mistaken  confidence,  which  bordered 
upon  temerity,  he  was  transferred  to  the  jail  of  Ca- 
raccas,  where  he  remained  but  a  few  days. 

A  new  captain- general,  Don  Manuel  de  Guevara 
Vasconzelos,  had  just  taken  possession  of  the  govern- 
ment general  of  Caraccas.  Either  to  gratify  a  malicious 
pleasure  by  putting  his  courage  to  the  test,  or  from 
an  emotion  of  compassion  towards  the  unfortunate  cri- 
minal, several  anonymous  writings  were  addressed 
to  this  governor.  These  menaces,  which  are  always 
the  certain  sign  of  impotence  made  no  impression 
upon  the  calm  collected  spirit  of  the  captain-general. 
The  day  of  execution  was  neither  accelerated  nor 
reta-dcd.  It  tonk  pi -tee  on  the  8th  of  May,  1799, 
as  did  likewise  that  of  five  other  traitors  at  Goayra, 
without  any  tumult,  or  even  the  slightest  symptom  of 
disapprobation. 

The  number  of  the  conspirators  accused,  or  denoun- 
ced, amounted  to  seventy -two.  Stven  received  sen- 


152 

tence  of  death ;  one  of  this  number  not  appearing  to 
take  his  trial  was  outlawed ;  the  other  was  exeeuted 
on  the  spot. 

Thirty-six  were  condemned  to  the  galleys  or  to 
a  temporary  imprisonment  from  two  to  eight  years. 
The  remaining  thirty-two,  against  whom  appeared 
very  slight  grounds  of  accusation  were  sent  off  to 
Spain  and  placed  at  the  mercy  of  the  king,  who 
absolved  them  in  1802,  on  condition  that  they  should 
no  more  reside  in  the  province  of  Venezuela,  and 
with  a  promise  to  employ  them  in  Spain  in  the  same 
rank  and  offices  which  they  held  in  America. 

If  we  consider  according  to  their  origin  the  seven- 
ty-two persons,  who  either  were,  or  were  not  sus- 
pected to  be  concerned  in  this  conspiracy,  we  reckon 
amongst  them  twenty-five  Europeans  and  forty- nine 
Creoles.  If  we  distinguish  them  with  respect  to  their 
colour,  we  discover  thirty-nine  blacks  and  thirty-three 
men  of  colour.  If  we  examine  them  according  to 
their  employments,  we  find  them  consisting  of  thirteen 
of  the  regular  military  establishment,  among  whom 
were  comissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers,  and 
privates;  and  twenty-eight  officers,  &c.  of  militia,  six 
clerks  of  the  fiscal  department,  twenty-three  citizens 
and  mechanics  ;  and,  lastly,  two  clergymen,  one  of 
them  a  curate. 

If  the  criminal  object  of  this  conspiracy  did  not 
strike  us  with  horror,  we  would  feel  disposed  toad- 
mire  the  talents,  intelligence  and  secrecy  with  which 
its  measures  were  concerted.  What  would  have  prov- 
ed fatal  to  Spain,  was  the  steps  which  had  been  taken 
to  prevent  her  from  finding  defenders  in  any  class  of 


153 

the  people.  The  fire  had  been  skilful V  applied  to  all 
the  branches,  and  hud  they  been  more  combustible,  I 
repeat  it,  the  whole  tree,  under  whose  shade  -  the 
rights  of  the  mother  country  and  general  tranquil- 
lity reposed,  would  have  been  at  once  reduced  to 
ashes. 

Ail  you  Europeans,  and  descendants  of  Europeans 
who  inhabit  the  New  World  under  the  laws  and  pro- 
tection of  your  respective  mother  countries,  imitate, 
in  every  case,  where  the  spirit  of  faction  would  threat- 
en your  repose,  imitate  the  wisdom,  which  the  in- 
habitants of  Caraccas  have  manifested  upon  this  im- 
portant occasion.  Like  them  shut  your  ears  against 
the  delusive,  perfidious  morality  in  which  all-destroy- 
ing anarchy  is  ever  enveloped.  She  makes  virtue  her 
theme,  and  vice  her  practice  ;  promises  a  profusion 
of  blessings,  and  diffuses  a  multiplicity  of  evils  ;  in  a 
word,  she  has  the  tongue  of  an  angel,  and  the  heart  of 
a  tigress.  Let  those  perverse  men  who  betray  prin- 
ciples of  an  innovating  or  revolutionary  tendency  be 
abandoned  to  the  rigour  of  the  law.  Revolutions, 
though  at  considerable  intervals  indispensable  in 
great  states,  are  always  a  calamity  to  the  people  who 
are  engaged  in  them  ;  and  that  calamity  is  more  or 
less  lasting,  more  or  less  terrible,  in  proportion  as 
those  who  direct  them  are  more  or  less  wise  and  en- 
lightened, and  according  as  the  people  have  an  in- 
terest more  or  less  uniform.  But  in  the  colonies  the 
great  mass  of  property  is  in  the  hands  of  a  class, 
which  is  far,  very  far,  from  being  the  most  numerous. 

The  public  offices,  honours  and  dignities  are,  par- 
ticularly in  Spanish  America,  in  the  hands  of  a  num- 

VOL.  I.  A  a  . 


154 

ber  of  citizens  still  more  circumscribed.  Both  have 
to  dread  the  hatred  and  jealousy  of  those  who  possess 
neither  dignity  nor  riches.  The  security  of  property 
depends  solely  upon  the  law  ;  and  in  all  the  Spanish 
possessions,  the  law  is  so  happily  combined  with 
religion,  as  to  lend  one  another  mutual  assistance, 
to  insure  order,  harmony  and  public  tranquillity. — 
To  overthrow  these  two  fundamental  supports,  is 
to  break  down  those  precious  barriers  which  go- 
vernment opposes  to  the  passions  of  men  ;  it  is  to 
subject  the  feeble  to  the  discretion  of  the  strong,  the 
man  of  wealth  to  the  mercy  of  the  man  in  desperate 
circumstances  ;  it  is  to  deliver  up  the  virtuous  to  the 
fury  of  the  ambitious,  the  pacific  to  the  inconsiderate 
enterprises  of  the  turbulent ;  or,  to  continue  the  am- 
plification, it  is  to  kindle  a  civil  war  between  the  ob- 
scure man  and  the  man  distinguished  by  his  birth  or 
appointments ;  between  the  poor  and  the  rich,  the 
slave  and  the  free  ;  it  is  to  dig  a  frightful  precipice 
in  which  the  pre-eminence,  fortunes  and  lives  of 
citizens  of  all  classes,  of  men  of  all  colours  are  swal- 
lowed up  and  destroyed.  Such  an  image  strikes  with 
horror  and  ought  to  .determine  every  citizen  to  shed 
the  last  drop  of  his  blood  in  support  of  those  benefi- 
cial institutions  to  which  he  owes  the  peace  and  hap- 
piness which  he  enjoys. 

Slaves. 

The  simple  word  slave  extorts  involuntary  groans 
in  favour  of  those  unfortunate  creatures,  whom  then- 
lot  condemns  to  have  no  other  will  than  that  of  their 


155 

masters,  incessantly  to  toil  without  deriving  any  ad- 
vantage from  the  sweat  of  their  brow;  to  enjoy  no  rank 
nor  consideration  in  society ;  to  find  in  the  laws  but  a 
feeble  protection  for  their  lives  ;  and  to  be  exposed  to 
every  injury,  to  every  bad  treatment  from  their  in,- 
hunmn  masters,  whose  property  they  are.  But  this 
evil,  great  as  it  is,  is  but  a  necessary  consequence  un- 
happily arising  from  others  which  have  preceded  it  in 
America.  The  European  powers  resolved  to  invade 
this  vast  continent  in  order  to  augment  their  com- 
merce by  the  commodities  peculiar  to  its  climate. — 
After  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  were  destroy- 
ed, the  small  remnant  who  escaped  the  sword  of  the 
conquerors,  have  obtained,  as  an  indemnification  for 
the  blood  of  their  ancestors,  the  privilege  of  passing 
their  days  in  the  lap  of  idleness.  It  was  natural  to 
expect  that  the  land  thus  deprived  of  its  native  culti- 
vators should  have  its  deficiency  supplied  from  that 
country  whose  arms  inflicted  so  great  a  calamity. — . 
But  as  its  population  was  too  scanty  to  furnish  where- 
with to  settle  its  transmarine  possessions,  and  the 
tefnperature  of  the  torrid  zone  was  not  congenial 
enough  with  that  of  the  temperate,  to  admit  the  prac- 
ticability of  transplanting  Europeans  to  America  with- 
out risking  the  lives  of  the  emigrants,  (of  which  the 
first  experiment  furnished  a  convincing  proof)  the 
court  of  Spain  fluctuated  between  the  necessity  of 
sanctioning  the  slavery  of  the  Indians,  in  order  to 
make  them  the  instruments  of  culture,  and  that  of 
renouncing  the  great  riches  which  was  promised  by 
the  fertility  of  the  lands  of  the  new  world.  At  this 
very  period  came  Barthelemy  De  Las  Casas,  priest. 


156 

monk,  and  finally  bishop  of  Chiapa,  to  present  him- 
self in  1517  to  Charles  V.  in  order  to  plead  the  cause 
of  the  Indians.  From  the  general  principles  upon 
which  natural  liberty  is  founded,  he  deduced  the 
strange  conclusion  that  the  slavery  of  the  Indians  was 
a  crime,  that  of  the  Africans  a  necessity.  He  de- 
manded with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  a  philanthropist 
the  liberty  of  the  former,  and  with  the  obduracy  of  a 
tyrant  the  slavery  of  the  latter.  B\  his  advice  four 
thousand  of  these  wretches  were  purchased  and 
thrown  into  the  great  islands  of  St.  Domingo,  Cuba, 
Jamaica  and  Porto-Rico.  At  this  period,  and  after 
this  manner,  was  the  slavery  of  the  blacks  established 
in  America.  All  the  European  powers,  which  suc- 
cessively acquired  foreign  possessions  in  this  quar- 
ter, have  pursued  the  same  system,  which  severe 
philosophy  can  never  approve,  but  which  rational  po- 
licy regards  as  a  misfortune  attached  to  the  interest 
of  possessing  colonies ;  to  the  rigour  of  the  climates  in 
which  they  are  situated,  and  the  kind  of  labour  which 
culture  requires ;  to  the  encouragement  held  out  in 
the  European  domestic  markets  for  colonial  produc- 
tions obtained  at  the  least  possible  expense,  and  to  the 
impossibility  of  cultivating  these  lands  by  Europeans. 

The  Spaniards  do  not  carry  on  tJie  slave  trade. 

The  Spaniards  have  never  carried  on  the  slave* 
trade  in  a  direct  channel,  nor  thought  of  establishing 
counting-houses  upon  the  coast   of  Africa.      They 
consider  that  species  of  traffic  as  too  repugnant  to  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  religion ;  but  by  ingeniously 


157 

compounding1  with  their  consciences,  they  find  it 
very  natural  to  purchase  blacks,  when  they  are  carried, 
to  them.  The  government  frequently  enters  into 
contracts  with  foreign  merchants  for  the  importation 
of  a  specific  number  of  blacks  into  such  or  such  parts 
of  their  domains.  The  last  treaty  of  thi*:  kind,  which 
was  made  for  the  province  of  Venezuela,  has  been 
entirely  fulfilled  since  1707.  The  king,  to  reward 
the  particular  services  of  three  of  his  vassals  of  Vene- 
zuela, granted  them,  in  1801,  the  privilege  of  im- 
porting into  that  province  four  thousand  blacks  from 
the  coast  of  Africa ;  but  that  privilege  had  not  yet 
been  acted  upon  at  the  end  of  1803. 

Besides  these  means  of  procuring  cultivators  for 
Terra  Firma,  the  Spaniards  were  further  permitted 
to  go  and  purchase  some  in  foreign  colonies.  They 
were  even  encouraged  by  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on 
exports  obtained  in  favour  of  the  articles,  which  were 
exported  in  order  to  apply  the  proceeds  to  the  pur- 
chase of  negroes.  But  since  the  total  subversion  of 
order  which  took  place  in  St.  Domingo,  the  princi- 
ples of  which  were  more  or  less  disseminated  over 
foreign  colonies,  the  Spanish  government  judg- 
ed that  this  source,  whence  its  agricultural  popula- 
tion was  derived,  was  tgo  much  corrupted  to  ad- 
mit of  importation  without  running  the  risk  of  conta- 
gion. It  did  not  hesitate  to  renounce  the  trifling  ad- 
vantages which  accrued  to  culture  from  this  branch 
of  importation,  in  order  to  shield  its  possessions  from 
the  very  probable  misfortune  of  seeing  their  safety 
committed  by  the  introduction  of  some  African, 
charged  with  the  foul  principles  of  devastation,  to 


158 

which  might  be  ascribed  the  deplorable  state  of  the 
French  colonies  Several  orders  of  the  king  have, 
therefore,  prohibited  the  landing  of  any  foreign  negro 
or  mulatto,  whether  freeman  or  slave,  in  Terra 
Firma. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1802,  some  ships  were 
sent  from  Martinicp  to  the  coast  of  Terra  Firma, 
carrying  two  hundred  and  fifty  negroes  and  mulattoes 
of  both  sexes.  A  great  number  of  these  were  not 
arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  and  almost  all 
the  males  were  tradesmen.  All  these  had  been  kept 
under  confinement  by  the  English,  either  by  the 
right  of  war,  or  on  accunt  of  the  dangerous  opinions 
which  they  manifested.  On  the  restitution  of  Mar- 
tinico,  the  prefect  charged  with  taking  possession 
of  the  island,  no  less  desirous  than  the  English  had 
been,  of  preserving  good  order,  thought,  not  without 
reason,  that  the  public  safety  demanded,  that  all  those 
who  were  capable  of  disturbing  it  should  be  dismissed 
from  the  'island.  It  was  resolved  that  this  ship- 
ment should  consist  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  indivi- 
duals, who,  they  imagined,  might  be  admitted  into 
the  Spanish  possessions,  with  as  little  danger  as  diffi- 
culty, provided  due  information  was  communicated 
with  regard  to  those  amongst  them  whose  characters 
v,  ere  most  exceptionable ;  so  that  the  vigilance  and  pre- 
cautions of  the  magistrates,  by  a  timely  interposition, 
might  frustrate  their  wicked  intentions.  This  arrange- 
ment as  simple  as  it  was  natural,  was  not  admitted  ; 
the  orders  of  the  king,  and  the  fear  of  bringing  dis- 
order into  the  country,  caused  it  to  be  rejected. 

A  system  cf  such  rigid  exclusion,  is  undoubtedly 
not  that  which  is  best  calculated  to  give  a  spring  to 


159 

agricultural  improvements :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  rather 
calculated  to  retard  them ;  although,  upon  the  whole, 
it  must  be  confessed  the  decision  upon  this  occasion 
was  a  wise  one.  In  such  circumstances,  the  prudence 
which  preserves,  is  preferable  to  the  hardihood  which 
resolves  to  acquire  at  the  risk  of  losing  all. 

Number  of  slaves. 

We  have  seen  that  the  number  of  slaves  employed  in 
the  captain- general  ship  of  Caraccas,  as  well  for  cul- 
ture as  for  domestic  service  amount  to  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  four  hundred  blacks.  We 
have  now  only  to  examine  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  managed. 

Their  treatment. 

It  is  generally  thought  that  the  Spaniards  treat 
their  slaves  with  more  humanity  than  other  nations. 
This  opinion,  correct  in  some  respects,  is  in  many 
others  erroneous.  Every  country  has  subjected  the 
slaves  of  its  colonies  to  particular  regulations  adapted 
to  its  own  manners  and  genius.  The  English  treat 
them  with  a  rigour,  which  forms  a  singular  contrast 
with  the  principles  which  they  profess.  They  never 
speak  to  them  but  in  the  tone  of  passion  and  se- 
verity. The  French,  without  exchanging  many 
words  with  them,  insist  on  the  performance  of  their 
tasks  at  the  stated  hours,  but  ask  no  account  of  the 
intervals  appropriated  to  rest.  Theft,  drunken-/ 
ness,  and  laziness,  are  the  only  vices  which  they 
punish.  Except  these  three  offences,  all  the  actions 


160 

of  a  slave  are  referred  to  the  tribunal  of  his  own  con- 
science ;  magnificent  hospitals  attended  by  skilful 
physicians  attest  the  care  which  is  taken  of  the  sick. 
The  distribution  of  labour  in  proportion  to  the 
strength  of  each  individual ;  the  custom  of  having  a 
provision-store  upon  every  plantation,  which  is 
opened  whenever  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  pre- 
vents the  earth  from  producing  a  sufficient  supply  ;  the 
clothing  regularly  furnished  every  year;  the  generally 
received  opinion,  that  the  best  manager  is  the  most 
sparing  of  punishment ;  the  vigilance  of  the  tribunals 
to  repress  the  abuse  of  the  masters'  authority,  all 
announce,  that  in  the  French  colonies  exist  senti- 
ments of  justice  and  humanity,  which  greatly  alleviate 
the  chains  of  slavery. 

Every  thing  is  done  to  make  them  good  christians. 

The  Spaniards,  more  familiar  with  their  slaves, 
indulge  a  kind  of  vanity  in  teaching  them  more  prayers 
and  more  catechism  than  are  known  to  the  generality 
of  christians. '  It  is  true  they  never  cultivate  their  un- 
derstanding sufficiently  to  make  them  comprehend  the 
meaning  of  the  doctrine  which  is  inculcated  on  them ; 
the  whole  process  consists  in  teaching  them  like  par- 
rots to  articulate  certain  sounds,  which  is  accom- 
plished in  the  course  of  time  and  retained  by 
dint  of  frequent  repetition.  The  master  acts  as  a 
kind  of  inquisitor  towards  his  slave  ;  obliges  him  to 
perform  all  those  exercises  of  devotion  which  arc 
commanded  by  religion,  or  have  been  established  by 
custom,  and  deprives  him,  as  much  as  lies  in  his 


161 

power,  of  every  opportunity  of  becoming  addicted  to 
the  vice  of  incontinence.  In  the  country  as  well  as  in 
the  city,  every  young  female  slave  is  locked  up  at  ( 
night  from  the  age  often,  till  she  gets  married. 

They  keep  a  sharp  eye  over  their  proceedings  and 
allow  them  to  be  as  little  as  possible  out  of  their  im- 
mediate inspection ;  but  this  extreme  vigilance  is  far 
from  having  the  desired  effect.  The  painful  restraints 
under  which  they  are  kept,  tend  to  irritate,  instead  of 
appeasing  their  desires  ;  the  consequence  is,  that 
notwithstanding  the  apparent  circumspection  of  the 
masters,  the  licentiousness  of  Spanish  slaves  is  as 
great  as  that  of  the  slaves  of  other  colonies.  If  one 
would  but  take  the  trouble  of  minutely  observing,  he 
would  soon  discover  that  the  habit  of  constraint  dis-/ 
poses  the  former  to  be  more  prompt  and  less  punc-J 
tilious  in  the  preludes  of  gallantry ;  more  ardent  to 
avail  themselves  of  a  precious  opportunity  ;  less  deli- 
cate in  their  choice,  and  more  wavering  in  their 
attachments.  To  these  considerations  add  that  of 
their  extreme  indigence,  and  you  can  at  once  ascertain 
the  cause  and  extent  of  their  prostitution.  Frequent- 
ly, very  frequently  are  they  seduced  and  supported 
in  their  vicious  course  by  those  very  persons  whose 
duty  it  is  to  be  the  guardians  of  their  morals.  How  many 
wives  united  to  th^ir  husbands  in  the  sacred  bonds  of 
matrimony  daily  see  the  nuptial  bed  polluted  by  their 
own  slaves,  without  being  able  to  revenge  themselves 
upon  the  caprice  by  which  they  are  injured,  but  by 
indulging  inclinations  equally  guilty,  which  they 
have  not  always  an  equal  opportunity  of  gratifying  ! 
Vol.  I.  »  b 


162 

But  this  question  would  lead  me  too  far  beyond  the 
limits  which  my  subject  prescribes. 

v  Carelessness  of  Masters  with  respect  to  their  Slaves. 

Prayer  is  the  only  article  of  provision  for  which  a 
Spanish  slave  is  indebted  to  his  master.  His  food 
and  clothing  make  but  a  very  small,  if  any  item  of  the 
account ;  and  the  law,  which  appears  upon  all  occa- 
sions to  be  very  favourable  to  liberty,  is  entirely  silent 
upon  these  important  articles.  The  consequence  is, 
that  with  the  exception  of  a  small  number  of  proprie- 
tors, whose  hearts  are  not  altogether  callous  to  the 
sentiments  of  humanity,  they  all  keep  their  slaves 
with  scarcely  a  rag  to  cover  their  nakedness,  do  not 
allow  them  any  provisions,  but  what  they  raise  them- 
selves, upon  a  small  spot  of  ground  allotted  to  them 
for  that  purpose.  Whether  the  season  is  favourable 
or  unfavourable ;  whether  the  crop  is  abundant  or 
scanty  ;  in  a  word,  whether  the  slave  wallows  in  the 
enjoyment  of  plenty,  or  has  not  a  crust  to  eat,  all  that 
is  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference  to  the  proprietor. 
It  is  easy  to  conjecture  that  theft,  decay  and  mortali- 
ty, must  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of  such 
wretched  management.  The  subsistence  of  the 
household  slaves  is  as  badly  provided  for  as  that  of 
the  field  slaves.  The  rations  allowed  them  for  the 
whole  day  is  scarcely  sufficient  for  breakfast.  Intrigue 
rapine,  debauchery  must  supply  what  is  wanting.— 
They  receive  no  other  clothing  than  what  is  called 
the  liven-  suit,  because  they  only  wear  them  when 
they  follow  in  the  train  of  their  masters.  As  soon  as 


163 

they  return  home,  they  are  either  stripped  as  naked 
as  worms,  or  covered  with  such  tatters  as  deserve. not 
the  name  of  garments.  Their  treatment  is  different 
in  the  French  colonies ;  for  there,  both  house  and 
field  slaves  are  provided  with  a  new  suit  at  least  once 
every  year. 

In  sickness,  the  Spanish  slaves  are  entirely  aban- 
doned, to  die  or  recover  as  nature  determines.  Not 
a  single  plantation  is  provided  with  a  physician  ;  and 
very  rarely  is  any  to  be  found,  even  in  the  village 
where  it  lies.  All  the  assistance  which  art  affords  to 
the  poor  slaves,  whose  constitutions  are  materially 
impaired  by  the  fatigue  of  hard  labour,  is  limited  to 
the  use  of  a  few  plants,  which  old  women  recommend, 
or  administer  without  judgment  or  discrimination. 
In  our  plantations  on  the  contrary,  every  day,  at  least 
ever}7  other  day,  a  physician  goes  through  his  routine 
of  duty  according  to  positive  agreement,  and  visits 
hospitals,  abundantly  provided  with  medicine,  even 
if  they  should  contain  no  patients  to  require  his  assist- 
ance. Suicii  T  am  safnr^dyrmperl  in  the  disagreea- 
blejask  of  telling  severe  truths,  I  must  likewise  say, 
that  the  slaves  who  live  in  the  cities  are  almost 
equally  neglected.  The  physician  is  rarely  called  till 
interest  becomes  alarmed  at  the  danger  of  property. 
I  have  even  seen  masters,  who,  on  the  supposition  of 
their  slaves  being  possessed  of  some  paltry  resource, 
or  shift  of  industry,  obliged  th<  m  to  pay  for  medi- 
cine. I  am  assured  that  this  is  a  general  custom, 
although  I  confess  I  had  not  courage  to  make  any 
direct  inquiry.  I  am  aware  that  personal  pride,  galled 
by  this  humiliating  representation,  and  the  shame  of 


164 

appearingto  have  so  much  religion  and  so  little  human- 
ity, will  prompi  a  great  number  of  individuals  to  prefer 
their  claims  of  exception ;  I  am  willing  to  grant  them 
all,  provided  they  put  their  application  on  that  footing. 
Such  a  mode  of  management  loudly  calls  for  a  salu- 
tary reform.  But  local  circumstances  require  that  it 
should  be  promoted  by  an  easy  and  gradual  progres- 
sion. To  attack  abuses  in  an  open  and  direct  manner; 
to  attempt  to  suppress  them  with  too  much  precipita- 
tion, is  only  to  run  the  risk  of  creating  unavailing  com- 
motion, more  calculated  to  perpetuate  than  to  termi- 
nate the  evil.  Besides,  in  a  country  where  masters 
themselves  enjoy  upon  their  plantations  but  few  of 
the  conveniencies  of  life,  it  is  not  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect that  slaves  should  be  allowed  by  law,  more  than 
the  indispensable  necessaries  of  life,  that  is  a  comfort- 
able diet  and  homely  dress.  It  is  from  the  appear- 
ance of  extending  too  much  indulgence  to  that  un- 
happy class  of  mortals,  that  the  local  authority  does 
not  permit  the  royal  ordinance  of  the  31st  of  May5 
1789,  to  be  carried  into  execution. 

Reforms  contemplated. 

The  first  article  of  that  ordinance  recommends  t© 
masters  to  instruct  their  slaves  in  the  Christian  doc- 
trines, to  make  them  observe  holy-days  and  Sabbaths, 
and  to  have  upon  their  plantations,  priests  to  say 
mass,  upon  the  particular  days  prescribed  by  the 
church. 

The  second  article  orders  that  comfortable  food 
and  clothing  be  allowed  to  the  slaves,  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  which  is  to  be  determined  by  the  tri- 
bunals. 


165 

By  the  third  article,  the  labour  of  each  slave  is  to 
be  rated  by  the  police  judges.  The  person  who  sug- 
gested this  idea  undoubtedly  thought  that  the  planta- 
tions lay  so  contiguous  to  one  another,  and  formed 
such  clean  and  commodious  streets,  as  to  render  it 
easy  for  the  magistrate,  even  without  the  trouble  of 
changing  his  slippers,  to  make  the  round  of  his  official 
visits ;  whereas  there  are  plantations  at  the  distance 
of  twenty  or  thirty  leagues  from  the  civil  officer,  who 
has  the  nearest  place  of  residence.  This  same  ordi- 
nance suhjects  to  the  assessment  of  labour  only  male 
slaves,  who  are  come  to  the  age  of  seventeen  years ; 
and  exempts  all  those  who  have  reached  the  age  of 
sixty.  The  slaves  of  both  sexes  are  net  allowed  to 
be  engaged  in  promiscuous  labour.  By  such  mea- 
sures it  is  much  easier  to  make  monks  than  cultiva- 
tors of  the  soil. 

The  amusements  of  the  slaves  upon  rest  days  are 
regulated  by  the  fourth  article :  they  must  be  inno- 
cent, and  without  the  promiscuous  intercourse  of  the 
sexes. 

The  fifth  article  prescribes  to  misters  to  lodge 
their  slaves  in  commodious  and  spacious  houses, 
where,  above  all  things,  care  must  be  taken  to  keep 
the  sexes  separate:  every  slave  must  have  a  bed  fur- 
nished with  blankets,  &.c.  and  his  chamber  apart. 
Whatever  may  be  the  urgency  of  the  occasion,  he  is 
forbidden  to  put  more  than  two  of  them  in  the  same 
room  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  slave  is  to  be  better  provided 
for  than  a  great  many  of  the  proprietors,  who  arc 
obliged  to  sleep  upon  hides,  and  have  frequently,  for 
the  accommodation  of  a  numerous  family,  but  one 
miserable  leaky  cabin. 


166 

The  rest  of  the  ordinance,  consisting  of  14  articles, 
contains  arrangements  exhibiting  equally  striking 
proofs  of  the  ignorance  of  the  person  who  devised 
them.  By  attempting  to  do  too  much,  nothing  has 
been  effected  in  favour  of  these  unfortunate  creatures, 
whose  wretchedness  might  have  been  alleviated,  had 
the  law  been  dictated  by  a  spirit  of  intelligence, 
equally  attentive  to  local  circumstances,  as  to  the 
claims  of  humanity. 

As  some  compensation  for  the  ungenerous  treat- 
ment experienced  by  the  Spanish  slaves,  the  law,  to 
soften  the  rigour  of  their  lot,  gives  them  some  re- 
sources entirely  unknown  in  the  colonies  of  other  na- 
tions. 

Advantages  -which  the  Laivs  offer  to  Slaves* 

In  every  other  country,  the  slave  is  condemned  for 
life,  to  suffer  under  an  unjust  master.  Amongst  the 
Spaniards,  he  may  quit  the  domain  of  him  who  abuses 
the  right  he  has  over  his  person.  The  law,  however, 
requires  that  he  should  specify  his  reasons ;  but  the 
judge  who  administers  the  law,  is  easily  satisfied  on 
that  point.  The  most  trifling  allegation,  whether  true 
or  false,  is  sufficient  to  compel  the  master  to  sell  the 
slave,  that  does  not  wish  any  longer  to  serve  him. 
He  is  not  allowed  to  exact  an  exorbitant  price.  He 
must  sell  at  whatever  price  he  purchased  him;  and 
further,  it  must  not  exceed  300  dollars,  whatever  ta- 
lent or  qualification  he  may  have  to  recommend  him. 
All  that  has  been  advanced  for  him  above  that  sum, 
is  charged  to  the  caprice  of  the  purchaser,  which  can- 


167 

not  militate  against  the  privilege,  which  the  law  se- 
cures to  the  slave,  of  endeavouring  to  better  his  situa- 
tion by  changing  his  master.  If  his  value  suffer  any 
diminution  on  account  of  bodily  infirmities,  the  judge 
orders  an  estimate  to  be  made,  which  fixes  the  real 
price  of  the  slave  who  makes  the  application. 

Every  slave,  therefore,  has  it  in  his  power  to  ef- 
fect his  own  redemption  by  refunding  to  his  master 
the  sum  which  he  originally  cost  him,  or  by  paying 
down  the  sum  of  300  dollars,  in  case  he  has  advanced 
more  than  that  amount.  A  written  acknowledgment 
of  the  payment  is  considered  as  a  sufficient  document 
of  his  manumission,  and  entitles  him  to  the  rank  of  a 
citizen  without  the  interference  of  either  the  law  or 
fiscal  department  in  a  transaction  of  such  importance, 
that  all  other  nations  have  subjected  it  to  more  au- 
thentic forms  attended  with  very  considerable  ex- 
pense. 

No  master  without  being  severely  reprimanded  by 
the  magistrate,  can  inflict  upon  his  slave  chastise- 
ments which  occasion  any  loss  of  blood. 

To  conclude,  in  order  to  support  the  rights  of 
slaves,  and  shield  them  from  the  vexatious  persecu- 
tion of  masters,  there  is  appointed  within  the  juris- 
diction of  every  governor  an  attorney,  commonly  call- 
ed the  poor's  attorney,  who  is  charged  with  all  the 
proceedings  necessary  to  vindicate  the  cause  of  such 
slaves  as  apply  for  redress.  That  institution  alone  af- 
fords sufficient  proof  of  the  foresight  and  wisdom  of 
the  legislator. 


168 
<Freed-Men. 

In  all  modern  colonies,  cultivated  by  slaves,  eman- 
cipation is  solely  obtained  from  the  generosity  of  the 
master,  but  is  more  frequently  conferred  on  the 
object  and  offspring  of  his  illegitimate  embraces. 
But  most  governments,  far  from  encouraging  such 
acts,  on  the  contrary,  embarrass  them,  with  such  for- 
malities and  incidental  charges,  as  render  them  dif- 
ficult, expensive  and  unfrequent.  Amongst  the  Spa- 
niards alone,  every  thing  concurs  to  multiply  them  ; 
religion  ranks  emancipation  among  the  works  that  are 
most  agreeable  to  God  ;  the  law  imposes  no  con- 
straint upon  the  will  of  the  master  with  respect  to  this 
particular,  and  the  department  of  finance  has  not  yet 
bid  it  under  contribution.  It  is  no  wonder,  there- 
fore, that  the  Spanish  possessions  have  more  freed- 
men  and  descendants  of  freed-  men  than  slaves. 

Their  Number. 

/f.        In  fact,  in  a  population  of  seven  hundred  and  twen- 

ty-eight thousand  persons,  which  the  captain-general- 

ship of  Caraccas  contains,  it  is  computed  that  there 

(  are  two  hundred  and  ninety-one  thousand  two  hun- 

/    dred  freed-men  and  descendants  of  freed-men.  That 

V 
j,          class  is  more  particularly  known,  amongst  the  Spa- 

niards and  elsewhere,  under  the  general  name  of  peo- 
of  colour. 


A  \/  pie 


Restrictions  laid  on  Liberty. 


The  transition  from  slavery  to  the  exercise  of  the 
plenary  rights  of  citizenship  has  not  Leen  sudden  in 
any  age  or  country, 


169 

At  Lacedemon  the  freed-men  were  not  admitted  to 
the  assemblies  of  the  people,  and  held  no  office  in  the 
government.  At  Athens  the  liberty  of  the  freed-man 
was  not  entire.  The  master  still  continued  to  have 
a  certain  kind  of  authority  over  him.  He  owed  some 
respect,  as  well  as  public  and  private  services  to  his 
old  master,  which,  if  he  neglected  to  render,  he  for- 
feited his  liberty. 

The  Romans  were  equally  far  from  regarding  the 
freed-men  as  citizens.  At  first  they  were  obliged  to 
shave  their  heads,  and  wrear  a  kind  of  cap,  which  was 
the  emblem  of  liberty.  They  were  bound  to  repair, 
twice  every  day,  to  their  masters'  houses,  and  to  as- 
sist them  in  case  of  poverty.  The  neglect  of  these 
duties  was  punished  by  the  forfeiture  of  their  liberty, 
and  by  condemnation  to  the  mines. 

What  induced  the  ancients  to  withhold  from  freed- 
men  a  part  of  the  political  rights,  was  the  danger 
which  their  ignorance  of  the  social  duties  might  oc- 
casion to  the  public  tranquillity.  On  breaking  their 
chains,  they  bound  them,  as  it  were,  to  serve  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  social  life,  from  which,  however, 
their  descendants  were  exempted.  Reason  and  justice 
required  this  restriction,  but  required  no  more  ;  and 
their  decision  was  deemed  sacred. 

The  nations  who  formed  the  modern  colonies, 
having  commerce  for  their  sole  object,  have  proceed- 
ed entirely  on  the  principles  of  calculation.  By  com- 
mercial speculation  slavery  was  introduced  into  them. 
To  the  augmentation  of  merchandise  were  uniformly- 
referred  all  the  regulations  which  were  framed  for 
them. 

VOL.  T.  c   c 


170 

From  an  error  in  principle,  no  power  possessing 
colonial  territories,  conceived  that  unlimited  einan- 
cipation  could  be  prejudicial  to  social  order.  All  the 
laws  relative  to  that  subject  gave  the  freed-man  im- 
mediate access  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  political  rights. 
The  black  code,  sent  by  France  to  her  colonies  in 
1685,  a  period  \Vhen  they  scarce  deserved  the  name 
of  establishment,  says,  article  lix.  "  we  grant  to  the 
"  freed- men  the  same  rights,  privileges  and  immu- 
"  nities,  which  free-born  persons  enjoy ;  and  it  is 
"  our  will,  that  they  should  deserve  the  liberty  which 
"  has  been  conferred  upon  them;  and  that  it  should 
"  produce  in  them,  as  well  with  respect  to  their  per- 
"  sons  as  property,  the  same  effects  which  the  bless- 
"  ing  of  natural  liberty  causes  to  our  other  subjects. ?J 

Causes  of  these  Restrictions. 

But  experience  soon  made  it  appear,  that  the  sud- 
den concession  of  all  the  social  rights  to  freed-men, 
was  productive  of  many  more  inconveniences  in  the 
new  colonies  than  among  the  other  nations  who  pos- 
sessed slaves ;  and  that  consequently,  it  was  necessa- 
ry that  they  should  be  still  more  circumspect  on  that 
point,  than  the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  been.  These 
indeed  had  nothing  to  dread  but  from  the  irregularities 
of  the  freed-men,  who  were  unacquainted  with  civil 
liberty. 

The  European  colonies  had  this  same  subject  of 
apprehension,  besides  many  others,  which  were  es- 
sentially connected  with  their  preservation.  They 
were  appreciated  by  the  nations  to  which  they  belong- 


171 

ed,  according  to  the  species  and  quantity  of  their  pro- 
ductions.  Situated  in  the  torrid  zone,  and  subject  to 
the  influence  of  those  numerous  physical  causes, 
which  prove  so  unfavourable  to  the  health,  and  so 
fatal  to  the  lives  of  those  who  were  born  in  the  tem- 
perate zones,  they  found  themselves  unable  to  culti- 
vate the  soil  without  having  recourse  to  men  inured 
to  the  same  climate  ;  and  the  lot  fell  upon  the  Afri- 
cans. The  number  of  these  cultivators  increased,  by 
reason  of  the  great  profits  accruing  from  their  labour 
to  the  European  proprietors,  and  soon  became  so  con- 
siderable, that  in  almost  all  the  French  and  English 
colonies  they  were  found,  with  respect  to  the  whites, 
in  the  proportion  of  twenty  to  one.  On  contemplat- 
ing, with  emotions  of  fear  and  alarm,  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  the  Africans,  destined  by  their  gratuitous 
labour,  to  enrich  masters  whom  they  must  detest,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  devise  means  to  give  perma- 
nence to  a  dependence  which  supplied  an  inexhausti- 
ble source  of  riches  to  government  and  to  individuals. 
The  gradual  augmentation  of  troops,  which  appear- 
ed to  be  the  most  effectual  expedient,  was  attended 
with  the  disadvantage  of  proportionably  augmenting 
the  colonial  expenses,  and  consequently  diminishing 
the  mass  of  profits.  Had  they  determined  to  employ 
physical  force  alone,  the  military  establishment  would 
have  exhausted  all  their  resources.  Under  all  these 
\-iews,  the  colonial  system  had'  more  to  rely  on  the 
advantages  arising  from  an  artful  and  imposing  po- 
licy, than  from  the  continual  presence  of  an  armed 
force.  Accordingly,  they  attached  such  considera- 
tion to  the  European  complexion,  that  every  white 


172 

person  was  regarded  by  law  and  opinion,  as  being  of  a 
superior  nature  to  any  directly  or  indirectly  connect- 
ed  with  Africa.  Excepting  the  articles  of  nourishment 
and  clothing,  the  slave  had  no  other  rights  than  those 
of  common  humanity.  Obedience  became  his  best,  his 
only  safeguard.  Placed  at  so  great  a  distance  from 
the  white,  even  liberty  did  not  enable  him  to  sur- 
mount the  barrier  of  prejudice  which  separated  them. 
By  making; him  independent  of  a  master,  it  only  in- 
sured him  a  more  effectual  protection  from  the  law, 
without  thereby  acquiring  the  exercise  of  political 
rights.  By  these  means,  the  freed-men  formed,  be- 
tween the  slave  and  the  master,  an  intermediate 
grade,  which  cannot  associate  with  the  white,  till  by 
the  aid  of  successive  generations,  the  African  blood 
is  supplied  by  the  European.  Prejudice  frequently 
goes  still  farther. 

Upon  these  principles  the  European  colonies  are 
constituted,  with  this  difference  only,  that  each  of 
them  has  been  more  or  less  severe  in  their  applica- 
tion, conformably  to  the  policy  and  manners  of  their 
respective  governments. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  laws  are  more  fa- 
vourable to  people  of  colour  in  the  Spanish  colonies, 
than  in  those  of  other  nations.  This  opinion,  founded 
solely  on  conjecture,  has  undoubtedly  obtained  credit 
from  the  spirit  of  religion  which  is  supposed  to  preside 
over  all  the  actions  of  the  Spaniards.  Politics  and  reli- 
gion afford  one  another  mutual  assistance  ;  but  when- 
ever a  sacrifice  is  to  be  made  by  the  one  to  the  other, 
it  is  generally  made  by  the  latter  in  favour  of  the 
former.  Thus  in  the  laws  relative  to  freed-men,  sro- 


vernment  consulted  exclusively  the  good  order,  tran- 
quillity and  sUibiiity  of  its  possessions. 

The  first  regulations  made  upon  this  subject  prove, 
that  a  century  had  nearly  past,  before  they  followed 
the  counsels  of  prudence  with  respect  to  the  rank  which 
was  to  be  assigned  to  the  freed-mcn  in  society.  If  they 
did  not  before  that  hold  so  high  a  place  in  the  public  es- 
teem as  the  Europeans,  it  was  less  on  account  of  their 
being  frced-men  or  men  of  colour,  than  on  account  of 
the  prejudice  almost  generally  attached  to  that  class 
of  men  who  are  born  out  of  wedlock  ;  for,  legitimate 
children  of  whatever  colour,  were  allowed  to  enjoy 
the  same  rights  as  other  citizens.  Victoria  andZapa- 
ta,  two  celebrated  lawyers  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
write  in  defence  of  this  order  of  things. 

Several  ordinances  about  the  end  of  the  seventeenth' 
century  declare,  that  free  men  of  colour,  have  a  right 
to  the  same  honours,  and  the  same  employs  as  other 
Spanish  citizens. 

An  ordinance  of  the  28th  Sept.  1588,  enjoins  the/ 
admission  of  all  men  of  colour  to  the  priesthood,  pro-) 
vided   they  have  the   necessary  qualifications ;  and'1 
that,  upon  the  same  principle,  the  colour  of  women 
who  would  wish  to  become  nuns,  should  not  be  an 
obstacle  to  their  admission. 

Frced-men  can  liold  no  Public  Office. 

Restrictions  follow  very  closely  these  unlimited  con- 
cessions ;  for,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  7th  June,  1021, 
it  was  prohibited  to  confer  upon  men  of  colour  any 
public  office,  even  that  of  notary,  who,  according  to 


174 

the  Spanish  judiciary  arrangements  fulfils,  at  the  same 
time,  the  duties  of  notary,  recorder  and  constable. 
The  royal  ordinance  of  the  25th  July,  1643,  and  23d 
March,  1654,  declare  men  of  colour  incapable  of  serv- 
ing in  the  royal  troops.  They  employ  them,  however, 
in  defence  of  the  country.  They  are  formed  into  parti- 
cular corps  of  militia,  in  which  merit  may  raise  a  man 
of  colour  to  the  rank  of  captain.  All  superior  officers 
must  be  taken  from  amongst  the  whites. 

The  Law  subjects  them  to  an  Impost  -which  they  d& 
not  pay. 

All  negroes  and  mulattoes  of  both  sexes,  like  the 
Indians,  have  been  subjected  to  a  personal  tax  ;  \)ut 
the  ordinance  which  imposes  it  is  not  executed  in  the 
extent  of  the  captain-generalship  of  Caraccas.  The  law 
is,  however,  so  much  the  more  express,  as  it  ordains, 
in  order  to  facilitate  the  collection  of  that  impost,  that 
the  residence  of  the  negroes  should  be  only  at  the 
houses  of  persons  of  some  notoriety. 

Sumptuary  Laws  -with  respect  to  Frced-men. 

Another  ordinance  debars  women  of  colour  from 
wearing  gold,  siik,  mantles  or  pearls.  But  this  restric- 
tion is  not  enforced.  At  present  they  are  permitted 
to  regulate  their  costume  according  to  their  pecuniary 
means,  which  are  more  or  less  abundantly  supplied,  ac- 
cording to  their  age  and  personal  attractions.  It  may  be 
affirmed  as  a  truth,  that  of  all  the  women  of  colour  in 
Terra-Firma,  nineteen  out  of  twenty  have  no  other 


175 

shift  to  depend  upon,  and  it  must  be  confessed  at  the 
same  time,  that  they  have  generally  the  .talent  to 
make  the  most  of  it.  The  white  women,  who  are  too 
frequently  mortified  by  the  rivalship  of  women  of  co- 
lour, not  to  entertain  considerable  prejudice  against 
them,  have  always  asserted  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
using  in  church  carpets  which  are  carried  there  by 
their  servants.  She  who  has  one  drop  of  African 
blood  flowing  in  her  veins,  must  not  pretend  to  this 
piece  of  convenience.  The  petticoats  of  those 
women  whose  complexions  are  tinged  by  the  slight- 
est shade  of  black,  are  condemned  to  be  soiled  by  the 
dusty  floor  of  the  church,  whilst  their  delicate  knees 
must  bend  upon  the  hard  flags. 

Free  persons  of  colour,  however  rich  they  may  be< 
are  not  allowed  to  have  Indians  in  their  service. 

Case  in  which  a  Frccd-man  returns  to  Slavery. 

The  freed-man  or  his  descendant,  who  absconds 
for  four  months  is  again  reduced  to  slavery,  and  be- 
comes the  property  of  the  person  who  takes  him,  un- 
less his  captor  prefers  the  sum  of  fifty  milled  dollars, 
to  be  paid  by  the  police,  to  whom  the  prisoner  is  in 
that  case  to  be  surrendered,  and  to  become  their  pro- 
perty. 

The  King  gives  Dispensations  xvith  respect  to  People 
of  Colour. 


The  rigour  which  the  law  is  observed  to  exercise 
towards  people  of  colour  is  not  unfreqiieiitly  mitiga- 


176 

ted  by  the  interposition  of  patronage.  It  is  not  un- 
common for  the  law  to  grant  dispensations  to  men  of 
colour,  either  to  qualify  them  for  entering  into  holy 
orders,  or  for  becoming  candidates  for  civil  employ- 
ments. The  real  or  supposed  merit  of  the  party  is 
of  considerable  importance  in  supporting  his  preten- 
sions, but  he  must  at  least  be  a  mulatto,  to  entitle 
him  to  the  right  of  making  any  solicitation.  Were 
the  negro  a  nonpareil  of  science,  and  a  pattern  of  vir- 
tue, he  must  not  aspire  at  any  such  favours. 

When  money  can  create  a  powerful  interest,  and 
give  animation  to  the  zeal  of  patrons,  entire  families 
arc,  according  to  a  royal  ordinance,  transferred  from 
the  class  of  freemen  of  colour  to  that  of  whites.  It  is 
unlawful  to  reproach  them  with  the  viciousness  of 
their  origin;  and  they  are  declared  competent  for 
exercising  any  public  function. 

During  my  stay  at  Caraccas,  a  whole  family  of  co- 
lour obtained  from  the  king  all  the  privileges  attach- 
ed to  the  whites.  All  the  real  advantage  which 
they  derived  from  this  advancement  seemed  to  me  to 
devolve  upon  the  women,  who  thereby  acquired  the 
right  of  kneeling  upon  carpets  at  church.  Vain 
of  this  newly  acquired  privilege,  they  display- 
ed, in  the  exercise  of  it,  such  ostentation  and  ex- 
travagance as  could  afford  no  gratification  but  to 
vulgar  pride.  I  was  informed,  by  respectable  au- 
thority, that  this  royal  favour,  at  whatever  price  it 
might  have  been  procured,  would  effect  very  little- 
change  in  the  public  opinion  favourable  to  the  family 
in  question,  and  that  none  of  its  members  would  ever 
be  called  to  the  exercise  of  public  functions,  so  fur 


177 

as  their  complexion  would  betray  their  origin.  This 
evinces  how  far  prejudices  are  paramount  to  laws. 
They  are  formed  and  destroyed  by  time,  or  by  the 
aid  of  those  political  commotions,  which,  by  derang- 
ing the  heads,  derange  likewise  the  opinions  of  men, 

Marriages  between  Whites  and  People  of  Colour. 

Marriages  between  freemen  of  colour  and  whites, 
although  not  prohibited  by  the  laws,  till  a  very  late 
period,  are  not  viewed  in  a  more  favourable  light  here 
than  elsewhere.  The  first  families  are  particularly 
careful  to  avoid  such  a  mixture.  Upon  this  article, 
they  are  even  more  scrupulous  than  French  noble- 
men, who  have  frequently  gone  to  the  colonies  for 
the  express  purpose  of  repairing,  by  a  matrimonial 
connexion,  a  fortune  wrecked  by  losses  or  miscon- 
duct. In  these  cases  they  despised  prejudice.  They 
cared  nothing  about  colour,  provided  it  was  not  ab- 
solutely black.  Riches  were  the  great  desideratum, 
and  made  up  for  every  thing  else.  They  returned 
to  France  with  their  tawny  consorts,  where  their 
Creole  birth  detracted  nothing  from  their  consequence 
in  polite  society. 

It  is  true,  there  are  no  inducements  for  such  alli- 
ances, in  the  Spanish  settlements,  where  people  of  co- 
lour are  generally  so  indigent,  that  those  who  enjoy 
the  easiest  circumstances  live  from  hand  to  mouth. 
Nothing,  therefore,  but  the  beauty  and  attractions  of 
a  girl  of  colour,  could  tempt  a  noble  Spaniard  to  con- 
tract a  legal  union  with  an  object,  who  would  refuse, 

Voi,.  I.  »  d 


178 

on  any  other  consideration,  to  admit  him  to  her  fa- 
vours. But  in  a  country,  where  there  are  so  many 
means  of  gratifying  passion,  such  a  sacrifice  is 
hardly  to  be  expected.  Besides  the  virtue  of  girls  of 
this  class  is  too  frail  to  resist  seduction,  and  their  cir- 
cumstances no  ways  adequate  to  support  their  notions 
of  luxury,  to  be  able  to  prefer  modesty  under  every 
privation,  to  intrigue,  which  knows  none. 

Hence  it  is,  that  alliances  between  families  of  co-* 
lour  and  distinguished  Spanish  families  have  very 
rarely  occurred.  Such  connexions  have  been  pretty 
common  among  the  lower  classes  of  the  whites,  till 
in  the  year  1785,  a  royal  ordinance  expressly  required, 
for  the  validity  of  marriages,  that  the  consent  of  pa- 
rents should  be  obtained,  or  at  least  requested,  ac- 
cording to  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  laws,  and  that 
the  difference  of  colour  should  constitute  a  reason  suf- 
ficient to  prevent  marriages,  conformably  to  the  prag- 
matic sanction  of  1776,  which  prohibits  all  marriages 
between  whites  and  persons  of  colour.  After  this 
arrangement,  prejudice  resumed  all  the  ascendancy 
which  time  had  destroyed. 

Until  that  period,  the  Creoles  of  the  Canary  Isles 
were  least  averse  to  such  marriages.  From  that 
time  they  are  as  delicate  on  this  point  as  other  whites, 
and  it  may  be  affirmed  with  truth,  that  marriages  of 
this  kind  are  far  from  being  frequent  at  the  present 
•day. 

Some  are  yet  to  be  seen  between  people  of  colour 
and  whites. 

Those  still  to  be  seen  are  between  white  girls  and 
men  of  colour.  This  particularity  demands  an  ex- 
planation, which  1  give  with  reluctance. 


It  arises  from  the  horrible  custom  of  exposing 
children  who  are  the  offspring  of  illegitimate  com- 
merce. 

In  the  Spanish  settlements,  as  in  every  other  part 
of  the  world,  there  are  females,  who,  with  all  the 
weakness  characteristic  of  too  many  of  their  sex, 
allow  themselves  to  be  carried  away  from  the  paths 
of  virtue,  by  the  warmth  of  constitutional  propensi- 
ty, the  seduction  of  love,  or  the  imperious  calls  of 
domestic  want.  Women  of  this  description,  who,  for 
the  honour  of  their  sex  are  far  from  being  numerous, 
find  it  much  easier  to  gratify,  than  to  subdue  their 
desires.  Such  is  their  depravity,  that  in  the  prelimina- 
ry arrangements  of  their  amorous  intercourse  the 
only  difficulty  that  occurs,  is  with  respect  to  the  choice 
of  a  convenient  place ;  as  soon  as  appearances  are 
saved,  all  the  rest  goes  on  like  clock-work.  From, 
that  illicit  commerce,  frequently  result  consequences, 
which  detach  the  father,  and  overwhelm  the  mother 
with  the  agonies  of  despair.  Nature  in  these  cases 
too  often  thwarted  and  counteracted,  has  to  struggle 
against  the  criminal  efforts  of  a  mother,  whose  object 
is  to  destroy  in  embryo  a  deposit,  which,  if  allowed  to 
arrive  to  the  maturity  of  a  birth,  must  prove  a  lasting 
monument  of  her  shame.  If,  in  spite  of  these  unnatu, 
ral  efforts,  the  offspring  of  her  embraces  is  safely 
ushered  into  the  world,  her  prospect  on  recovery  is 
miserable  indeed.  The  mildest  treatment  which  the 
unfortunate  creature  can  expect,  is  to  be  exposed  at 
the  entrance  of  some  house,  before  the  gate  of  some 
church,  or  in  the  open  street.  The  unjust  prejudice 
which  attaches  to  this  kind  of  maternity,  public  con- 


180 

tempt,  and  family  disgrace,  are  the  only  reasons  that 
can  be  assigned  for  the  shocking  proceedings  which 
follow  the  misfortunes  of  pregnancy  and  delivery.  A 
white  girl  is  for  ever  undone,  if  she  is  proclaimed 
mother,  if  she  pays  the  due  honour  to  nature  ;  but  suf- 
fers nothing  in  her  reputation,  however  well  ground- 
ed the  suspicion  may  be  of  her  abandoned  depravity. 
It  is  observed  that  these  new  born  infants,  when 
thus  exposed,  are  generally  picked  up  by  women  of 
colour,  sometimes  by  black  women.  The  male 
children  are  early  received  into  convents,  churches, 
&c.  but  the  female  share  the  poverty  of  their  foster- 
fathers,  till  they  get  married  ;  and  one  need  not  be 
informed  that  when  bred  by  persons  of  colour,  and 
altogether  destitute  of  fortune,  they  are  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  giving  their  hands  to  the  fin  t  man  of  colour 
who  asks  it.  Such  disadvantages,  and  otiicrs  far  more 
serious,  which  might  more  emphatically  be  called 
misfortunes,  arise  from  that  savage  custom  of  expo- 
sing to  the  too  often  lukewarm  pity  of  the  faithful,  or 
to  the  voracity  of  animals,  innocent  babes,  from 
whom  mothers  withhold  the  tenderness,  which  tigres- 
ses lavish  on  their  whelps.  But  of  what  use  is  this 
declamation  ? — it  may  tend  to  irritate  instead  of  cor- 
recting. The  causes  of  these  evils  are  too  deeply 
rooted  to  be  extirpated  by  reasoning.  A  ridiculous 
pride,  called  family  honour,  dispenses  with  the  practice 
of  virtue,  but  not  with  the  appearance  of  honouring 
it.  Under  an  exterior  show  of  decency,  one  may  in- 
dulge himself  in  vice,  may  gratify  all  his  desires, 
yield  to  all  his  passions,  provided  he  loudly  censures 
a  similar  conduct  in  others.  To  undertake  the  re- 


181 

form  of  such  morals,  is  to  declare  war  against  hypo- 
crisy, which  will  always  be  victorious  in  a  country 
where  every  individual  studies  to  make  a  display  of 
false  virtues,  in  order  to  disguise  real  vices.  Intrigue 
aiid  prostitution,  therefore,  will  always  pursue  their 
successful  career,  whilst  the  bold  task  of  endeavouring 
to  destroy  their  eifects,  will  neither  be  augmented  or 
diminished  in  its  efforts. 

The  Necessity  of  Hospitals  for  Foundlings. 

All  that  can  be  claimed  with  any  appearance  of  suc- 
eess  \ •••,  that  the  magistrate  should  at  length  prepare 
in  every  city  an  asylum,  where  the  infants,  who  ex- 
perience nothing  but  barbarity  from  their  mothers, 
may  receive  the  aliment,  attention  and  education, 
which  their  country  owes  them.  We  see,  in  all  the 
provinces  of  Currccas,  and  in  the  city  of  Caraccas 
it-'..  ' -richly  endowed,  religious  establish- 

ments oi  ev-iV  kind,  and  not  a  single  public  hospital 
for  foundlings.  Does  nor  piety,  a  virtue  justly  deified 
by  the  ancients,  hold  the  most  conspicuous  place  in 
the  catalogue  of  those  virtues,  which  constitute  hu- 
manity. Can  we,  then,  be  pious  without  being  hu- 
mane ?  Is  there  any  humanity  in  leaving  a  child  just 
come  into  existence,  exposed  at  the  corner  of  a  street, 
or  the  threshold  ef  a  gate,  to  be  devoured  by  dogs 
or  hogs,  unless  some  poor  free  negro  woman  take 
charge  of  it,  rather  to  mingle  her  tears  with  the  crav- 
ing cries  of  the  child,  than  to  afford  it  nourishment 
and  clothing,  which  she  has  not  for  herself?  A  dis- 
order so  shocking  requires  a  prompt  reform,  and  the 


182 

magistrates  have  reason  to  regret  that  they  have  ne* 
glected  it  so  long.     But  I  return  to  my  subject. 

Freed-men  can  practise  Medicine. 

Freemen  of  colour  are  by  no  means  fond  of  cul- 
ture, nor  indeed  of  any  employment  which  requires 
personal  labour.  Yet  they  all  have  trades,  which  the 
whites,  who  are  equally  indisposed  to  labour,  allow 
them  to  exercise  without  any  competition.  They  were 
formerly  debarred  from  the  practice  of  medicine  ; 
but  they  were  admitted  to  it  by  the  royal  ordinance 
of  the  14th  of  March,  1797  ;  and  by  a  decree  of  the 
audience  of  Caraccas,  it  was  prohibited  to  give  any 
molestation  to  that  description  of  physicians,  or  to 
any  that  should  thereafter  be  added  to  it,  until  the 
white  physicians  should  receive  such  an  increase  of 
their  number,  as  would  be  sufficient  for  the  popula- 
tion. It  is  even  pretended,  that  they  make  improve- 
ments in  that  profession,  of  which  they  were  thought 
incapable.  (See  the  chapter  on  diseases,) 


183 


CHAPTER  IV. 

'PORTRAIT  OF  THE  INDIANS  BEFORE  THE  ARRIVAL  OF 
THE  EUROPEANS  :— MEANS  EMPLOYED  TO  CIVILIZE 
THEM. 


How  America  has  been  peopled — Smallncss  of  the  population — 
Governments  which  are  found  there. — Division  of  the  population — 
Physical  and  moral  constitution  of  the  Indians — Their  propensity  to 
war — Unworthy  manner  in  which  they  carried  it  on.  Caxises  which 
put  an  end  to  wars — Religion  of  the  Indians — They  believe  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul — Their  priests  were  likewise  physicians — 
Studies  for  the  priesthood  and  physic  united — Medicines  used — 
Particular  gifts  of  the  Piaches — Witchcraft — Reflection — Religious 
ideas  of  the  Oronoko  Indians — Ei:ect  of  eclipses  on  the  Indians — 
They  worship  toads — Idols — Opinion  with  respect  to  the  state  of  th» 
soul  after  death — Funerals  of  the  Oronoko  Indians — Of  the  Salives — 
Of  the  Guaraunos — Of  the  Aruacas — Idle  and  sottish  lives  of  the 
Indians — Exception  in  favour  of  the  Otomacs — Indians  who  eat 
earth — Turtle-fishery — Marriages — Deplorable  situation  of  the  Oro- 
noko women — Polygamy — Divorce — Adultery — Exchange  of  wives 
— Education  of  children — Hatred  of  sons  against  fathers — Dress — 
Indians  not  reduced — Guaraunos — Guajiros — Their  relations  with 
Rio-de-la-Hache — With  the  English — Serious  interest  of  the  Spa- 
nish government  to  reduce  these  Indians — Civilized  Indians — Ex- 
cessive mildness  of  the  laws  in  their  favour — Measures  to  keep  them 
in  dependence — Their  privileges — Distinguished  favours  which  the 
church  grants  them — Melancholy  results — Difficulty  of  making  them 
citizens — Greater  still  of  making  them  Christians — How  the  Indians 
ought  to  be  treated — New  regulations  for  the  Indians — Result  of 
those  regulations. 


How  America  has  been  peopled. 


According  to  the  rules  of  historical  composition, 
an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  people,  whose  country- 
is  to  be  described,  ought  to  form  an  introduction  to 
the  work.  Before,  therefore,  I  speak  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, whom,  in  imitation  of  the  Spaniards,  I  shall  call 
Indians,  I  ought  to  relate  how  America  received 
its  first  population  ;  but  this  task  is  the  more  difficult 
to  perform,  as  that  remarkable  event  occurred  at  so 


134 

remote  a  period  as  to  leave  the  historian  bewildered 
in  the  regions  of  conjecture. 

All  th<p  learned  men  who  %ave  undertaken  to 
discuss  -thi$  important  question,  have  presented 
such  contradictory  results  as  will  impress  posterity 
with  a  conviction  that  none  of  them  are  authentic. 
The  opinion  which  is  most  generally  received,  and 
which,  by  its  simplicity  precludes  all  further  re- 
searches, is,  that  the  new  world,  originally  forming  a 
part  of  the  old  continent,  was  detached  from  it  by  one 
of  those  dismemberments,  which  deluges  and  earth- 
quakes can  alone  produce.  What  confirms  this  opi- 
nion, are  the  numerous  instances  of  similar  concus- 
sions of  nature,  to  which  are  to  be  ascribed  so  many 
revolutions  upon  the  globe.  What  detracts  from  its 
force,  is  the  difference  of  the  animals,  under  the  same- 
latitudes  of  the  old  and  new  continents. 

There  are  some  who  pretend  to  find  it  upon  record, 
that  in  the  ninth  century,  the  Norwegians  had  open- 
ed a  communication  with  Greenland,  which  was  af- 
terwards interrupted  by  fortuitous  causes,  and,  owing 
to  the  slow  progress  of  improvement,  was  not  resum- 
ed until  the  sixteenth  century.  From  this  fact,  they 
boldly  infer,  that  at  epochs  still  more  remote,  the 
Norwegians  had  been  able  to  penetrate  as  fur  as 
Greenland,  and  to  plant  there  a  population,  which,  in 
the  course  of  time,  extended  over  the  whole  continent 
of  America.  This  supposition  is  supported  by  a  strik- 
ing resemblance  discovered  between  the  characters 
of  the  Greenlanders  and  the  Esquimaux,  by  which  it 
would  appear  that  these  two  nations  were  originally 
the  same  ;  for  the  similarity  of  their  languages,  man- 


185 

nets  and  customs,  would  naturally  indicate  that  the 
one  gave  population  to  the  other.  The  honour  of 
this  event  must  be  decided  in  favour  of  the  Green- 
landers,  on  account  of  their  communication  with  the 
south-east  of  Europe,  which  renders  it  probable  that 
their  population  preceded  that  of  America. 

But  the  most  prevalent  opinion  is,  that  America  has 
been  peopled  from  the  north-east  of  Asia,  by  Bearing 
Straits,  so  called  after  the  name  of  its  discoverer.  It 
is  about  fifty  miles  broad.  The  similarity  observed 
between  the  manners  of  the  Indians  and  those  of  the 
Tartars,  gives  considerable  plausibility  to  this  opinion, 
and  has  secured  it  many  adherents.  Besides,  it  was  na- 
tural rather  to  acquiesce  in  a  theory  supported  by  pro- 
bability at  least,  than  to  undertake  to  form  a  new  one, 
which,  although  founded  upon  more  rational  princi- 
ples, might,  in  its  turn,  be  overthrown  and  exploded. 

Had  I  not  promised  my  reader  facts,  and  not  hy- 
potheses, I  should  perhaps  have  been  tempted  to  intro- 
duce him  into  the  labyrinth  of  conjectures,  where,  in- 
stead of  dissipating  his  old  doubts,  I  might  perplex 
him  with  new  ones.  He  will  therefore  excuse  me,  if 
I  leave  the  question  with  respect  to  the  first  popula- 
tion of  the  new  world  in  the  same  obscurity  in  which 
I  found  it,  whilst  I  hasten  to  inform  him  of  the  state 
of  the  natives  of  Terra-Firma  on  the  first  arrival  of 
the  Europeans,  as  well  as  what  it  continues  to  be  at 
the  present  day. 

Smallness  of  the  Population. 

America  was  in  general  very  thinly  inhabited.  This 
account  of  it  is  abundantly  evident,  from  the  state 
VOL.  I.  E  e 


186 

in  which  the  Europeans  found  the  arts  and  agricul- 
ture, which,  instead  of  flourishing,  could  nardly  be 
said  to  exist.  The  man  of  nature,  who  depends  for 
his  subsistence  upon  the  spontaneous  productions  of 
the  earth,  and  what  further  can  be  supplied  by  fish- 
ing and  hunting,  delights  to  range  in  the  deepest  re- 
cesses of  the  forest,  on  the  sea-coast,  or  on  the  banks 
of  rivers.  Solitude  is  his  sweetest  enjoyment.  He 
seeks  not,  he  knows  not  the  busy  and  contentious 
haunts  of  men. 

Governments  •which  were  found  there. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  In- 
dians were  so  savage,  as  even  to  be  unacquainted 
with  the  pastoral  life.  Mexico  and  Peru,  were  the 
only  countries  which  had  begun  to  make  some  pro- 
gress in  civilization.  Monarchs,  possessed  of  abso- 
lute power  over  their  subjects,  were  placed  at  the  head 
of  a  kind  of  government,  which  seemed  to  originate 
from  the  necessity  of  forming  an  union3  in  order  to  re- 
press the  incursions  of  the  neighbouring  tribes.  Bo- 
gota, now  Santa  Fe,  formed  the  third  government  of 
America,  more  recent  than  the  other  two,  and  much 
worse  organized.  The  first  of  these  empires  was  less 
extensive  than  the  present  viceroyalty  of  Mexico; 
the  second,  which  boasted  of  being  the  first,  but  could 
not  establish  its  claim  for  the  want  of  chronological 
documents,  nearly  corresponds  with  the  viceroyalty 
of  Lima.  The  third  had  scarcely  the  extent  of  one 
province. 

All  the  rest  of  America  was  occupied  by  particular 


187 

Bribes  of  Indians.  Each  of  these  tribes  was  denomi- 
nated a  nation,  although  the  number  of  which  it  con- 
sisted,  scarcely  amounted  to  a  thousand,  and  but 
rarely  exceeded  ten  thousand. 

This  is  a  summary  statement  of  the  population  of 
America,  at  the  period  when  the  Europeans  discover- 
ed it,  and  introduced  in  their  train  an  assemblage  of 
virtues  and  vices,  till  then  unknown  there. 

Subdivision  of  the  Population. 

The  whole  coast  from  cape  de  la  Vela  to  the  river 
Esequebo,  and  the  mouths  and  border  of  the  Oronoko, 
were  occupied  by  this  paltry  population.  The  plains 
were  thinly  inhabited,  because  they  were  less  pro- 
ductive of  the  spontaneous  fruits  of  the  earth,  a  sub- 
sistence the  more  agreeable  to  the  savage,  as  it  can 
be  procured  without  labour.  Besides,  they  are  sub- 
ject to  inundations  which  render  them  uninhabitable 
a  considerable  part  of  the  year. 

They  lived  in  scattered  tribes  ;  each  had  their 
territories  marked  out  by  particular  boundaries, 
and  in  war,  they  were  commanded  by  a  chief 
variously  stiled  Cacique,  Quebi,  Tiva,  or  Guajiros, 
according  to  the  language  of  the  nation.  Every 
chief  was  so  jealous  of  encroachments  upon  his 
territory,  that  the  smallest  violation  gave  rise  to 
bloody  wars.  Nothing  shows  so  clearly  the  little  com- 
munication which  existed  between  these  tribes,  as 
the  diversity  of  their  languages,  and  multiplicity  of 
their  dialects.  It  was  rare  for  a  man  who  knew  but 
one  Indian  language,  to  be  able  to  make  himself  un- 
derstood by  more  than  one  tribe.  There  was  a  kind 


188 

of  national  pride,  which  rendered  them  averse  from 
learning  the  dialect  of  a  neighbouring  nation,  and 
which  contributed  to  restore  to  local  words,  the  type, 
which  time  or  accidental  communications  had  effaced. 
All  the  Spanish  writers,  who  have  spoken  of  the  In- 
dians, all  the  missionaries  who  were  sent  to  civilize 
them,  have  found  in  their  language  a  poverty,  corre- 
spondent with  that  of  their  ideas.  The  celebrated  La 
Condamine,  whose  judgment  is  certainly  entitled  to 
respect,  has  made  the  same  observation ;  and  not- 
withstanding the  desire  which  I  have  felt  of  recogniz- 
ing in  their  languages  a  copiousness  and  richness, 
which  had  not  been  discovered  in  them,  I  have 
not  been  able  to  obtain  any  other  results  but  those 
which  have  been  anticipated  by  former  observers. 
Indeed,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  a  people  na- 
turally reserved,  without  exterior  relations,  without 
any  religious  system,  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
softer  passions,  with  the  riches  of  agriculture,  and 
the  advantages  of  commerce,  have  no  need  of  a  very 
extensive  nomenclature,  where  it  would  be  vain  to 
search  for  such  words  as  existence,  fatality,  mind, 
conception,  &c.  &c.  I  have  however  heard  a  great 
deal  about  the  richness  of  the  language  of  the  Incas, 
which  was  spoken,  and  still  continues  to  be  spoken  in 
the  kingdom  of  Bogota,  now  Santa  Fe  ;  the  proof 
which  is  given  of  it,  is,  that  it  is  better  calculated  than 
the  Spanish  to  express  the  tender  emotions  of  love. 
But  admitting  this  to  be  true,  we  are  permitted  to 
deny  the  consequence  which  is  deduced  from  it,  with 
respect  to  the  richness  of  the  language.  The  Creole 
dialect,  which  is  spoken  in  the  French  colonies,  is 
likewise,  for  the  same  reason,  preferred  to  the  French 


189 

language ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  is  for  its  copi- 
ousness ;  on  the  contrary  it  is  for  its  simplicity  and 
sweetness  of  accent,  expressive  of  sincerity  and  truth, 
by  which  it  softly  gains  the  avenues  of  the  heart,  and 
under  the  guise  of  innocence,  lays  it  open  to  seduction. 

Physical  and  Moral  constitution  of  the  Indians. 

A Jewphysical  and  moral  traitsjire  at  once  descrip- 
tive of  the  different  Indian  tribes.  What  they  have 
in  common  with  respect  to  their  bodily  frame,  is  the 
narrow  forehead,  eyes  of  middling  size,  hair  black, 
lank  and  long,  sharp  nose,  large  mouth,  thick  lips, 
broad  face,  and  big  head  ;  for  their  colour,  generally 
copper,  varies  according  to  the  temperature  of  the 
country  in  which  they  live,  and  their  stature  com- 
monly from  four  feet  and  a  half  to  five,  is  among 
other  tribes  from  five  to  six.  They  have  but  little 
hair  on  those  parts  of  the  body  where  it  naturally 
grows,  but  they  are  not  altogether  beardless.  Their 
limbs,  large  and  muscular,  have  the  appearance  of 
great  strength,  but  that  appearance  is  deceitful,  as 
they  with  difficulty  support  hard  labour.  With  re- 
spect to  their  moral  qualities^  laziness,  taciturnity, 
thoughtlessness,  stupidity  and  falsehood,  generally 
characterize  them.  It  is  observed  that  those  of 
them  who  live  in  the  inland  parts  of  the  country  are 
not  so  cruel  as  those  upon  the  coasts.  Very  few  of 
the  former  are  Cannibals,  whereas  almost  all  the  latter 
are.  Men  of  this  description,  abandoned  to  the  caprice 
of  their  own  disposition,  did  not,  and  in  fact  could 
not  know  any  other  mode  of  settling  a  quarrel  than 
having  recourse  to  arms.  Deprived,  by  the  nature  of 
their  relations  and  interests,  of  those  motives  which 


190 

kindle  the  flames  of  war  among-  civilized  nations,  they 
made  use  of  the  most  flimsy  pretexts,  and  the  most 
ridiculous  allegations.  Vindictive  and  ferocious, 
they  found  in  war  attractions  unknown  to  a  more  po- 
lished people,  and  they  pursued  it  with  such  despe- 
rate fury  as  resembled  more  the  rage  of  a  wild  beast, 
than  the  valour  of  a  warrior.  Treachery  and  perfidy 
they  ranked  amongst  the  first  military  virtues. 

Unworthy  manner  in  which  they  carried  it  on. 

In  order  to  aggravate  the  horrors  of  war,  it  was 
their  general  custom  to  tinge  their  arrows  with  poison, 
to  massacre  their  prisoners,  and  frequently  even  to 
devour  them.  It  was  not  the  hope  of  booty,  but  an 
ardent  thirst  of  revenge,  which  roused  them  to  mili- 
tary enterprises.  Their  enemies  had  nothing  to  lose ; 
for  the  whole  equipage  of  the  general,  as  well  as  of 
the  soldier,  consisted  of  a  quiver  filled  with  arrows, 
a  club,  a  small  bag  of  maize,  and  but  rarely  a  mat. 
Their  hamlets  were  no  more  than  an  assemblage  of 
miserable  huts  without  furniture,  which  the  enemy 
might  burn,  but  could  not  plunder.  Thus  the  object 
of  war  was  devastation,  not  conquest,  destruction, 
not  possession.  Notwithstanding  their  continual  devo- 
tion to  bloodshed  and  devastation,  never  were  two  In- 
dian armies  seen  to  face  one  another  in  the  open  field, 
so  true  it  is  that  cowardice  is  the  concomitant  of  fero- 
city, as  valour  is  of  generosity.  In  Terra  Firma,  the 
Caribbees  alone,  who  inhabited  the  borders  of  the 
Oronoko,  attacked  their  enemy  face  to  face,  and  ac- 
quired a  reputation,  which  impressed  all  the  other  In- 


191 

dian  tribes  with  terror.  To  their  courage  they  owed 
the  peaceable  possession  of  an  immense  tract  of  coun- 
try, upon  which  no  other  tribe  dared  attempt  to  set- 
tle. 

Causes  -which  put  an  end  to  ruar. 

These  horrid  wars  they  continued  to  wage  against 
one  another  till  they  were  attacked  by  the  Europeans 
at  their  respective  homes.  The  common  danger,  as 
Was  natural,  inspired  the  resolution  to  unite  their  forces 
against  the  enemies  of  their  independence.  Domes- 
tic quarrels  were  not  at  Terra  Firma,  as  at  Mexico 
and  Peru,  favourable  to  the  Europeans  ;  but  what 
advantage  did  they  derive  from  all  their  confedera- 
tions ?  A  carnage  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of 
their  number.  In  the  lirst  chapter,  we  have  seen 
that  the  Indians,  however  numerous,  were  unable  to 
prevent  the  Spaniards  from  establishing  themselves, 
wherever  they  fixed  their  choice.  How  often  have 
forty  or  fifty  Spaniards  routed  or  cut  to  pieces  four  or 
five  thousand  Indians  ?  There  is  not  a  creature  on 
earth  who,  when  occasion  requires,  discovers  great- 
er contempt  for  life  than  an  Indian,  or  who  is  less  will- 
ing to  encounter  death  in  the  heat  of  action.  Many- 
travellers,  and  almost  all  writers,  pretend  that  the 
Indians  of  North  America,  make  the  noblest  stand 
against  their  enemies,  and  the  dearest  sacrifice  of 
their  lives.  Let  these  men  warrant  the  bravery  of 
the  northern  tribes,  and  I  shall  answer  for  the  cow- 
ardice of  the  southern. 


192 

Religion  of  the  Indians. 

In  consequence  of  their  pusillanimity,  the  Indians 
profess  a  religious  system,  so  involved  in  superstition, 
that  it  requires  greater  talents  than  mine  to  unravel  it ; 
or  a  presumption,  which  I  do  not  possess,  to  advance 
as  a  certainty,  what  to  discerning  eyes  might  appear 
doubtful.  It  is  besides  so  much  the  more  difficult  to 
convey  a  just  idea  of  their  religion,  as  the  diversity 
of  their  rites  indicate,  that  they  have  none,  which 
flows  from  a  fixed  and  positive  faith.  At  Mexico 
and  Peru,  government  was  supported  by  a  kind  of 
religious  persuasion,  whose  practices,  though  barba- 
rous, proved  at  least  that  they  were  founded  on  prin- 
ciples which  were  embraced  by  the  whole  nation. — 
But  the  scattered  tribes  of  Terra  Firma  and  Guiana, 
who  were  with  respect  to  the  Indians  of  those  two 
empires,  what  the  Russian  Tartars  are  to  the  Europe- 
ans, had  neither  the  genius  necessary  to  meditate  on 
the  lot  of  humanity,  nor  ingenuity  enough  to  form  a 
system  for  themselves.  Altogether  destitute  of  in- 
tellectual powers,  they  were  destined  to  be  the  dupes 
of  the  artifices  and  imposture  of  those  amongst  them, 
who  were  naturally  cunning  and  designing  enough 
to  speculate  on  their  credulity. 

They  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 

i 

All  that  the  Indians  believed,  and  continue  to  be- 
lieve to  the  present  day,  with  respect  to  what  may 
be  called  fundamental  principles,  is,  that  man  is  pos- 
sessed of  an  immortal  soul,  and  they  allow  the  brute 
which  perisheth  equally  to  partake  of  that  glorious 
prerogative.  This  is  the  only  point  upon  which 


193 

these  savages  are  agreed  ;  for  their  opinions  with  re- 
spect to  the  destination  of  the  soul  after  death  vary 
according  to  the  policy  of  their  respective  chiefs,  and 
pontiffs. 

It  is  observed  that  the  Indians  of  Terra  Firma  ad- 
mitted an  evil  principle  only,  whilst  all  the  other  bar- 
barous tribes,  have  always  admitted  a  good  and  an 
evil  principle.  This  singularity  may  be  ascribed  to 
the  timidity  which  marks  their  character. 

Since  we  have  no  other  means  of  ascertaining  their 
theological  opinions,  we  must  descend  to  take  a  view 
of  their  gross  superstition,  and  those  ridiculous  prac- 
tices which  supplied  the  place  of  worship. 

Their  Priests  were  also  their  Physicians. 

In  the  countries  which  at  present  compose  the  pro- 
vinces of  Venezuela,  Maracaibo  and  Cumana,  the 
clerical  profession  was  united  with  the  medical.  The 
same  person  exercised  the  functions  of  both  priest 
and  physician ;  and  his  preparatory  course  of  instruc- 
tion was  principally  directed  to  the  latter. 

Studies  for  the  priesthood  and  medicine  united. 

They  were  taught,  from  their  infancy,  medicine 
and  magic.  As  soon  as  they  had  acquired  the  ele- 
mentary principles  of  these  two  sciences,  which  were 
inseparable,  they  had  to  seclude  themselves  totally 
for  two  years  from  society,  and  to  retire  to  caverns 
and  the  recesses  of  the  forest.  During  that  time  they 
entirely  abstained  from  animal  food,  saw  no  person. 

VOL.  T.  F  f 


194 

not  even  their  relations.  The  old  Pi?ches  or  Doc- 
tors attended,  at  night,  to  give  them  iiiMnuuon. 
When  they  were  thought  sufficiently  learned,  and  the 
period  of  their  taciturnity  expired,  they  obtained 
the  title  of  Piache,  in  virtue  of  which  they  acquired 
the  right  of  healing,  conjaring  evil  spirits,  and  pie- 
dieting  futurity. 

Medicines  used. 

For  medicine,  they  make  use  of  herbs  and  roots 
raw,  boiled,  or  pounded  with  fit,  \vo /u  and  o  her 
things  unknown  to  the  vulgar;  but  they  are-  -it-ver 
applied  without  pronouncing  some  m  .gic.,1  words, 
which  the  physician  himself  does  noi:  undcrs':.]^!. 
Thus  prepared,  they  were  applied  as  pou;Mc.s  or 
plasters  to  the  part  uftectecl,  in  order,  as  thev  .s  :id,  ro 
extract  the  bad  humours.  If  the  pain  or  fever  Sucre,  s- 
ed,  they  rubbed  the  whole  body  of  the  patient  wi  h. 
their  hand,  and  sucked  his  joh;t>.  This  e  xercise  w.is 
accompanied  with  some  unintelligible  j.inron,  em- 
phatically expressed,  containing,  as  the  Pi...cher  Al- 
leged, a  serious  summons  to  the  evil  spirit  to  co-r4e 
out  of  the  body  of  the  patient.  When  the  r!i  onkr 
appeared  obstinate,  they  had  recourse  to  a  kind  ci* 
wood,  known  only  to  the  Piache.  He  rubbed  strong- 
ly the  mouth  and  neck  of  the  patient,  who  soon  g  ve 
an  account  of  the  contents  of  his  stomach.  The.  Pi- 
ache,  on  his  part,  made  frightful  exclamations,  cried, 
howled,  quaked,  and  made  a  thousand  contortions  :  at 
length,  he  perspired  profusely,  and  vomited  some  sli- 
my matter  in  the  midst  of  which  was  a  bull,  which 


195 

the  people  of  the  house  immediately  took  up,  and 
throwing  it,  said  :  you  are  going  to  be  cast  out, 
devil,  you  are  going  to  be  cast  out.  If"  the  patient  re- 
covered, they  g.ive  every  thing  in  the  house  to  the 
Piuche  ;  if  he  died,  the  biame  was  laid  upon  fate,  not 
upon  the  physician. 

Particular  gifts  of  the  P  laches, 

The  Piaches  were,  ex  officio,  admitted  to  all  the 
secrets  of  futurity.  They  foretold  whether  there 
would  be  peace  or  war  ;  whether  it  would  be  a  year 
of  scarcity  or  abundance;  whether  there  would  be 
good  fishing,  and  whether  fish  would  sell  high  ;  they 
prognosticated  eclipses  and  comets,  in  short,  if  we  are 
to  believe  Lopez  De  Gomara,  they  were  the  genu- 
ine nostradamus  of  this  rude  and  extremely  ignorant 
people.  Their  prophecies,  as  well  as  their  treat- 
ment of  patients  were  purchased  at  a  high  price. — 
The  consequence  was  that  the  Piaches  engrossed  all 
the  riches  of  the  country.  They  were  regarded 
with  a  respect  and  awe  which  bordered  on  supersti- 
tion. Their  influence  amounted  to  absolute  power, 
of  which,  however,  they  made  little  use.  Their  pre- 
rogatives were  numerous.  The  most  prominent,  and 
what  furnishes  the  best  criterion  to  form  a  judgment 
of  the  rest,  was  that  which  gave  them  a  positive,  un- 
disputed right  to  the  bridal  bed  in  cases  of  adoptive 
«r  supernumerary  marriages. 


1% 

Sorcery. 

It  was  solemnly  believed  by  the  Indians,  whether 
savage  or  civilized,  and  even  by  the  Spaniards,  that 
bodily  disorders  always  arise  from  sorcery  practised 
by  some  enemy.  The  Indians  frequently  accuse  a 
Piache,  without  however  daring  to  reproach  him, 
because  his  order  alone  has  the  power  of  removing 

him. 

% 

Funerals  of  the  Indians  of  Terra  Flrma. 

The  common  opinion  of  all  the  Indians  of  Terra 
Firma  was,  that  the  soul,  when  separated  from  the 
body,  cannot  subsist  without  food.  They  made  wo- 
ful  lamentations  at  funerals,  and  celebrated,  in  their 
songs,  the  exploits  of  the  deceased.  They  interred 
the  corpse  in  the  house  with  some  provisions  laid 
beside  it ;  or  they  dried  it  at  the  fire,  and  hung  it  up. 
If  the  deceased  was  of  a  rank  above  the  common, 
they  celebrated  his  anniversary,  by  assembling  all 
his  friends  under  the  strict  injunction  of  each  carrying 
along  with  him  his  share  of  the  entertainment. 
This  ceremony,  which  somewhat  resembled  the  an- 
cient orgies,  was  performed  during  night.  They 
took  up  the  corpse,  if  they  had  it  interred  ;  and  the 
whole  night  was  spent  in  drinking,  dancing,  and 
howling. 

Reflection, 

We  see  from  this  miserable  superstition,  that  such 
was  the  stupidity  of  the  Indians,  that  they  never 


197 

thought  of  searching  for  the  first  cause  of  the  wonder- 
ful order  of  nature.  Insensible  of  the  blessings  con- 
ferred upon  them,  they  tendered  no  homage  to  the 
author ;  he  was  neither  the  object  of  their  admiration 
or  gratitude.  They  possessed  only  the  figure  of 
man  ;  their  mental  faculties  bespoke  them  a  degra- 
ded species,  nearer  the  brute  than  the  human. 

The  Oronoko  Indians,  without  being  much  better 
informed,  or  less  superstitious,  had  however  ima- 
gined a  creator  of  all  things,  to  whom  they  addressed 
their  vows  and  adoration.  Some  tribes,  says  father 
Caulin,  took  the  sun  for  the  supreme  being :  to  him 
they  attributed  the  productions  of  the  earth,  the 
scarcity  or  abundance  of  the  rains,  and  all  other  tem- 
poral blessings. 

Effects  of  eclipses  on  the  Indians. 

Others  thought  that  these  virtues  were  to  be  as- 
cribed to  the  moon ;  they  considered  her  eclipses 
as  dreadful  signs  of  her  anger. 

As  soon  as  they  perceived  any  of  them  coming  on, 
the  credulous  Indians  began  their  ridiculous  ceremo- 
nies, with  a  view  to  avert  the  punishment,  with 
which  they  thought  themselves  threatened  on  ac- 
count of  their  laziness  and  ingratitude.  The  men 
struck  up  their  warlike  instruments,  or  seized  their 
arms  to  show  their  valour,  cut  down  trees  with 
mighty  exertion,  or  betook  themselves  to  other  labo- 
rious exercises,  to  prove  to  the  moon  that  they  could 
not  be  taxed  with  effeminacy,  or  punished  without 
injustice.  The  women  ran  out  of  their  houses, 


198 

threw  up  into  the  air,  maize  and  other  kinds  of  grain, 
with  lamentable  cries,  promising  to  amend  their  man- 
ners and  to  become  more  industrious.  When  the 
eclipse  was  over,  they  congratulated  themselves  on 
having  deceived  the  moon  with  vain  promises  ;  after 
that,  they  had  a  dance  which  ended  like  all  their  feasts, 
in  complete  drunkenness  and  the  most  abominable  acts 
of  intemperance.  The  savage  Indians  still  preserve 
all  these  customs;  and  the  conquered  Indians  have  not 
entirely  abandoned  them. 

They  Worship  Toads. 

There  were  likewise  on  the  borders  of  the  Oronoko, 
Indians  who  rendered  the  honours  of  divinity  to  toads. 

Fur  from  doing  them  any  harm,  they  carefully  kept 
them  under  the  cover  of  vessels,  in  order  to  obtain 
from  them  rain  or  fair  weather,  as  occasion  required  ; 
and  they  were  so  fully  persuaded  that  toads  had 
power  to  grant  it,  that  they  beat  them  every  time 
their  prayers  were  not  promptly  complied  with. 

They  Worship  Idols, 

Some  of  these  tribes  had  no  other  worship  than 
dancing  to  the  sound  of  very  noisy  instruments,  before 
two  small  idols,  to  which  they  addressed  their  devo- 
tion, singing  some  extemporary  hymns  to  them. 

Opinion  with  respect  to  the  state  of  the  soul  after 
death. 

All  the  indians  are  agreed,  as  has  been  said,  with  re- 
spect to  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  ore  at  variance 


199 

with  respect  to  what  becomes  of  it  after  death.  Some 
think  that  the  soul  enjoys  repose  in  the  same  [kid 
which  the  body  cultivated  when  alive  ;  others  imagine 
that  it  is  conveyed  to  certain  lakes  in  the  belly  of  a 
huge  serpent,  which  ushers  it  into  a  delightful  land, 
where  it  passes  its  time  in  dancing  and  quaffing. 

When  an  Indian  kills  a  wild  beast,  he  opens  its 
mouth  and  makes  it  swallow  an  intoxicating  draught, 
that  the  soul  of  the  dead  animal  may  report  to  the 
rest  of  his  species,  the  good  reception  he  has  met 
with,  and  that  they  may  be  encouraged  to  come  and 
partake  of  the  same  favour  ;  accordingly  they  wait  for 
them  in  the  persuasion  that  they  will  come  without 
fear. 

The  Indians  of  the  Palanka  nation  are  never  en- 
gaged in  any  numerous  hunting  party,  without  ma- 
king the  oldest  huntsman  drink  one  or  two  large 
bumpers  of  the  strongest  liquor,  till  unable  to  swal- 
low more,  he  discharges  the  whole  contents  of  his 
stomach.  After  that  they  lead  him  about  as  much 
as  they  can,  that  the  soul  of  the  drunken  Indian, 
which  they  believe  to  be  wafted  on  the  blast,  may 
inform  the  game  that  there  is  likewise  something  for 
them  to  drink,  and  persuade  them  that  instead  of 
running  away,  they  should  approach  and  let  them 
selves  be  killed. 

Funerals  of  the  Oronoko  Indians. 

Amongst  the  Oronoko  Indians,  there  appears  such 
a  diversity  of  customs  with  respect  to  their  funerals, 
as  indicate  that  they  are  far  from  being  uniform  either 


in  their  religious  opinions,  or  in  their  manner  of  wor- 
ship. The  reader  will  permit  me  to  lay  before  him 
a  few  instances  in  support  of  this  observation. 

Of  the  Salive  Indians. 

The  Funerals  of  Indians  of  distinction  among  the 
Salives  afford  an  opportunity  for  the  display  of  what- 
ever is  remarkable  and  particular  in  the  nation.  They 
place  the  tomb  in  the  middle  of  the  house  where  the 
personage  died.  Stakes,  painted  with  different  co- 
lours and  representing  all  the  emblems  of  sadness  and 
mourning,  form  a  circle  around  it.  The  widow, 
without  finery  or  painting,  sits  constantly  beside  the. 
corpse.  Every  visitant  who  arrives,  weeps  bitterly 
before  he  enters,  whilst  their  woful  cries  are  echoed 
from  within ;  soon  after  this,  assuming  an  air  of 
gaiety,  they  drink  and  dance.  It  will  at  once  grati- 
fy the  curiosity  and  excite  the  surprise  of  the  reader 
to  be  told  of  so  sudden  a  transition  from  excessive- 
grief  toexcessive  joy;  from  a  burst  of  unfeigned  tears, 
to  peals  of  unaffected  laughter.  They  perform  very 
singular  dances  to  the  sound  of  funeral  instruments, 
which  one  cannot  hear  without  horror  ;  so  well  are 
they  adapted  to  these  sorts  of  ceremonies.  When 
fatigued  they  take  some  few  hours  of  repose.  To 
crown  all,  after  three  days  very  violent  exercise,  du- 
ring which  they  do  nothing  else  but  dance,  sing  and 
drink,  the  whole  company  march  in  procession  to 
the  river,  and  plunge  into  it  the  tomb  and  its  contents, 
together  with  every  thing  that  belonged  to  the  de- 


201 

ctased ;  after  which  they  all  wash  themselves  and  re* 
tire  to  their  respective  homes. 

Of  the  Guaraunos. 

As  scion  as  a  Guarauno  Indian  dies,  his  compa- 
nions take  up  the  corpse,  and  throw  it  into  the  Oronoko 
tied  with  a  cord  which  they  fasten  to  a  tree.  On  the 
following  day  they  drag  out  the  carcase,  when  they 
find  it  a  skeleton  perfectly  clean  and  white,  stript  of 
the  flesh  which  has  been  devoured  by  fish.  They 
disjoint  the  bones  and  lay  them  up  curiously  in  a 
basket,  which  they  hang  from  the  roof  of  the  house. 

Of  the  Aroacas. 

The  Aroacas  inter  their  dead  with  a  great  deal  of 
pomp  ;  the  arms  of  the  deceased  are  buried  along 
with  him.  One  point  of  their  rude  doctrine  is,  that 
the  earth  must  not  touch  the  coq^se  ;  and  therefore, 
they  lay  under  it  a  very  thick  bed  of  Banana  leaves. 
The  Achagoas  do  not  observe  this  custom  but  with 
respect  to  their  captains  and  caciques,  with  this  fur- 
ther particularity,  that  they  cover  the  placeof  interment 
with  a  coat  of  good  mortar,  and  go  every  morning  care- 
fully to  fill  up  the  chinks  occasioned  by  the  drought,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  ants  from  disturbing  the  dead. 
Several  other  nations,  particularly  the  Betoyes,  un- 
der the  influence  of  a  contrary  prejudice,  think  that 
the  sooner  the  corpse  is  consumed  by  the  ants,  the 
'better. 

VOL.  I-.  c  g 


202 
Of  the  Caribbecs* 

Amongst  the  Caribbees  the  corpse  of  a  captain  is 
put  in  a  hammock  and  hung  up  in  the  house  ;  they 
leave  it  there,  as  in  a  bed  of  state,  during  a  lunar  re- 
volution, that  is  to  say,  one  month.  All  this  time, 
the  women  of  the  deceased  have,  alternately,  to  keep 
watch  on  each  side  of  the  corpse,  in  order  to  prevent 
a  single  fly  from  lighting  on  the  dead.  In  order  to 
judge  of  the  hardship  of  this  duty,  it  is  only  necessary  . 
to  be  informed  that  the  country  inhabited  by  this  na- 
tion lies  almost  under  the  equator,  and  in  plains 
scorched  by  a  vertical  sun.  One  of  these  women  is  in- 
terred with  the  deceased  captain  ;  the  preference  is 
given  to  her  by  whom  he  has  had  offspring.  At  the 
end  of  a  year,  they  proceed  to  disinter  him  :  they 
collect  his  bones  into  a  basket,  which  is  hung  up  in 
the  hut  of  his  nearest  relations. 

The  lazy  and  sottish  life  of  the  Indians. 

The  Indians  maintain  that  there  are  not  under  the 
sun  enjoyments  more  pure  and  exalted  than  intox- 
ication and  idleness.  The  strongest  liquor  is  their  fa- 
vourite beverage.  In  former  times  their  women  prepa- 
red for  them  a  kind  of  wine  made  of  fruits,  such  as 
the  Ananas,  the  Corosol,  &c.  to  which  fermentation 
gave  a  very  considerable  degree  of  strength.  That* 
liquor  went  under  the  name  of  Chiche  :  they  have 
neglected  to  manufacture  any  since  they  found  it  ea- 
,  sy  to  supply  its  place  by  rum,  and  other  spirituous  li- 
quors equally  intoxicating.  The  Indian  passes  his 


..     203 

life  between  drinking  and  sleeping.  With  greatreluo 
tance  heleaveshis  hammock  only  when  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather,  rendering  the  agricultural  labours  of 
his  wife  unproductive,  obliges  him  to  go  and  hunt ; 
then  he  concerts  his  measures  with  so  much  address 
as  by  the  fatigue  of  one  day  to  insure  himself  subsist 
ence  and  repose  for  a  whole  week. 

Exception  in  favour  of  the  Otomaqites. 

The  Otomaques,  who  inhabit  the  high  grounds  of 
the  Oronoko,  must  be  admitted  as  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule.  More  active  and  intelligent  than  the 
other  Indians,  before  missionaries  had  arrived 
amongst  them  they  passed  their  time  in  continual 
exercise  and  social  joy.  The  only  interruption  they 
experienced  in  this  career  of  life,  was  the  time  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  pass  every  morning  in  shed- 
ding tears  for  the  dead,  and  the  short  interval  of  their 
repose,  which  lasted  from  midnight  till  three  o'clock, 
The  cock,  who  was  their  faithful  time -keeper,  gave 
them  every  day  the  signal  to  awake,  when  imme- 
diately a  general  *ry  was  raised,  lamentation  and 
weeping  for  their  departed  friends.  This  wailing  cry 
lasted  till  day  ;  the  joy  which  succeeded  it,  occupied 
the  eighteen  remaining  hours. 

At  sunrise  all  the  Otomaque  Indians,  capable  of 
abour,  repaired  to  the  houses  of  their  respective  cap- 
tains, who  nominated  those  amongst  them,  who 
were  to  go  on  that  day,  to  the  fishing,  in  quest  of 
turtles,  or  to  the  hunting  of  the  wild  boar,  according 
to  the  season.  In  seed-time  or  harvest,  a  certain 


204 

number  was  likewise  destined  for  the  labour  of  the- 
fields,  whose  fruits  were  deposited  in  public  grana- 
ries, in  order  to  be  afterwards  divided  by  the  chiefs. 
Never  did  an  Indian  of  this  tribe  go  two  days  suc- 
cessively to  labour. 

Exercise  of  Playing  Ball  amongst  the  Otomaques. 

All  the  Otomaques  whose  turn  it  was  not  to  go  to 
the  fishing,  or  labour  of  the  day,  went  to  the  field  to 
play  ball,  and  did  not  quit  till  night.  They  played  in 
a  party  of  twelve  against  twelve,  in  a  manner  that 
deserves  to  be  particularly  mentioned  here, 

Their  ball,  which  they  still  continue  to  use,  is  as 
big  as  the  bowl  used  at  mall.  It  is  made  of  a  kind 
of  rosin  which  they  call  caocho.  The  slightest  touch 
made  it  spring  as  high  as  a  man.  Striking  it  with  the 
right  shoulder,  they  kept  it  continually  playing  from 
side  to  side  ;  nor  were  they  allowed  to  touch  it  with 
any  other  part  of  the  body  without  forfeiting  a  fifteenth, 
or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  their  own  language,  a  point. 
The  wonder  is,  that  in  this  manner  the}'  keep  up  the 
ball  bounding  and  rebounding  f?vn  alternate  bides 
with  as  much  ease  and  velocity  as  the  Biscayans  do 
with  the  hand.  Nor  are  they  inferior  to  them  for  the 
regularity  and  decency  with  which  this  diversion  is 
conducted.  Before  they  begin  the  game,  they  chusc 
judges  who  are  to  preside  and  to  determine  with  re- 
spect to  any  differences  or  difficulties  that  may  occur 
in  the  course  of  the  game  ;  and  their  decisions  are  ac- 
quiesced in  without  murmur.  Those  who  do  not 
play,  make  bets,  and  thus  every  person  who  is  pre- 
sent feels  an  interest  in  the  play. 


205 

In  the  morning  the  women  were  engaged  in  manii- 
iacturing  a  coarse  kind  of  earthen  ware.  Their  most 
curious  workmanship  consisted  of  mats,  baskets,  and 
very  neat  bags.  The  material  they  made  use  of  for 
these  was  a  kind  of  hemp,  not  unlike  our  colonial  pite  ; 
but  finer.  The  tree  which  produced  it  was  in  their 
language  called,  marichi.  At  noon  the  women  quit- 
ted labour  and  went  to  join  their  husbands  in  their 
diversion.  They  immediately  took  part  in  the  game, 
ranging  themselves  twelve  upon  each  side  of  the  par. 
ty  already  formed  ;  so  that  by  this,  addition  they 
amounted  in  all  to  forty-eight  persons  engaged  at  once 
in  the  same  game,  and  yet  not  the  smallest  confusion 
was  to  be  seen  amongst  them.  Each  remained  at 
his  post  and  left  to  his  neighbour  the  ball  that  came 
most  convenient  for  his  stand.  The  women  played 
with  a  kind  of  battle-door,  which  they  wielded  with 
incredible  dexterity. 

At  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  fishermen  arrived 
with  their  canoes  full  of  fish.  Upon  this  the  party  at 
play  immediately  broke  up  ;  all  went  to  wash  them- 
selves in  the  river,  and  afterwards  retired  to  their 
respective  homes.  The  women  and  children  unload- 
ed the  boats,  and  carried  the  fish  before  the  captain's 
gates,  who  distributed  them  amongst  the  several 
families  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  their  mem- 
bers. Then  the  village  sat  down  to  the  only  repast 
which  they  had  made  through  the  day,  except  some 
fruits  and  morsels  of  earth,  of  which  we  shall  say 
more  hereafter.  After  that,  they  went  again  and 
washed  themselves  ;  in  the  interim,  night  came  on  ; 
the  dance  commenced,  and  was  not  closed  till  mid- 


night.  The  same  routine  of  exercises  was  repeated 
every  day.  At  Terra  Firm  a,  no  other  Indian  nation 
is  known  to  have  presented  the  spectacle  of  a  similar 
republic,  more  proper  to  give  a  lesson  of  concord  and 
sound  morals  to  certain  civilized  states,  than  to  re- 
ceive any  from  them.  The  misfortune  is  that  it  has 
lost  almost  all  the  purity  of  its  primitive  institutions, 
so  that  hardly  a  trace  remains  of  them. 

Indians  who  cat  Earth. 

It  is  observed  that  the  Otomaqucs  are  amongst 
the  most  voracious  of  the  Indians ;  it  is  easy  to  ac- 
count for  this  from  their  mode  of  living.  They  are 
accused  of  eating  earth,  and  the  charge  is  founded 
on  fact  ;  but  according  to  their  primitive  system  of 
administration,  it  appears  that  that  strange  habit  is 
retained  more  from  taste  than  necessity.  It  is  true, 
according  to  father  Gumilla,  that  it  is  a  particular 
kind  of  earth  kneaded  and  mixed  with  alligator  or 
other  fat,  and  which  afterwards  undergoes  some 
sort  of  cooking,  which  prevents  it  from  being  hurtful 
to  the  body.  He  neglected  to  tell  that  the  fat  is  only 
mixed  with  the  earth  which  is  prepared  for  the 
chief.  All  the  vagrant  tribes  who  are  found  on  the 
borders  of  Mcta  likewise  eat  earth.  There  are  some 
on  the  banks  of  the  Casiquiare  who  even  make  ants 
their  principal  nourishment . 

Food  of  the  Indians. 

Next  to  the  Otomaques  the  Guaraunos,  who  inha- 
bit the  islands  which  are  formed  by  the  mouth  of 


207 

the  Oronoko,  enjoy  the  most  comfortable  subsist- 
ence. 

Their  position  insures  them  as  much  fish  as  they 
please.  They  have  besides  a  kind  of  palm  they  call 
murichi,  which  abundantly  furnishes  bread,  wine,  &c. 
&c.  but,  in  general,  the  subsistence  of  the  wild  In- 
dians is  neither  abundant  nor  at  all  seasons  equal. 

The  chace  is  subject  to  casualties,  and  fishing  is  not 
less  so ;  besides,  they  both  depend  on  the  weather,  and 
the  fruits  have  likewise  their  season ;  to  all  this,  let 
the  improvident  spirit  of  the  Indians  be  ^addcd,  and 
we  shall  see  that  they  would  frequently  be  under  the 
necessity  of  prolonging  their  sleep,  for  want  of  vic- 
tuals to  eat,  unless  providence  had  provided  them 
with  such  resources,  as  are  indispensable  for  a  people 
who  hate  labour. 

Turtle  Fishery. 

Every  year,  on  the  fall  of  the  waters  of  the  Orono- 
ko, which  begins  in  the  month  of  February,  millions 
of  turtles  deposit  their  eggs  among  the  sands  on  the 
beach  of  the  river,  and  wait  till  they  are  hatched,  and 
the  young  ones  far  enough  advanced  not  to  require 
their  assistance  :  at  this  period  all  the  Indians,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Oronoko,  repair  with  their  fami- 
lies to  its  borders,  in  order  to  catch  turtles,  which 
they  preserve  by  drying  them  at  the  fire.  They 
use  the  same  precaution  with  the  eggs,  excepting  that 
part  of  them  from  which  they  extract  an  oil  no  wise 
inferior  to  sweet  oil  of  the  first  quality.  All  these 
articles,  besides  a  sufficient  stock  of  provision,  afford  a 
surplus  to  be  employed  in  barter  with  Indians  at  a 


208 

distance  from  the  Oronoko,  whom  laziness  or  fear 
pre\rent  from  coming  abroad/ 

Marriages  of  the  Indians. 

Marriage,  an  institution  coeval  with  the  world,  is 
found  established  among  the  Indians.  With  them, 
however,  it  has  no  connection  with  religion ;  as  there 
is  nothing  implied  in  it  which  bears  any  relation  to  the 
divinity  ;  nay,  polygamy  profanes  the  sanctity  which 
naturally  belongs  to  it,  and  diminishes  the  felicity 
which  it  is  calculated  to  confer.  There  is  no  law 
amongst  them  to  prohibit  marriage  between  near 
relations,  and  yet  there  appears  no  instance  of  inces- 
tuous union  sanctioned  by  the  name  of  marriage. 

In  this  transaction  the  father  has  no  controul  over 
the  will  of  his  son ;  but  he  exercises  an  absolute  con- 
troul over  that  of  his  daughter.  She  must  always 
blindly  give  her  hand  to  the  spouse,  or  rather  the 
master  whom  her  father  destines  for  her.  Instead 
of  giving  a  dowry  with  his  daughter,  he  receives 
one  from  his  new  son-in-law,  who  pays  it  in  labour, 
game,  fish,  or  some  other  articles.  The  whole  ce- 
remony of  marriage  consists  in  dancing  and  drinking 
to  excess. 

Amongst  the  Indians  of  Terra-Firma,  the  relations, 
neighbours  and  friends  of  both  spouses  were  invited. 
The  men  who  attended,  carried  the  wood  and  straw 
necessary  for  building  the  hut  destined  for  the  young 
couple ;  the  women  presented  to  the  bride  as  much 
iish,  fruit,  bread  and  liquor,  as  was  necessary  for  the 
celebration  of  the  marriage ;  the  men  sung  an  Epi- 


209 

ihalamium  to  the  bride  groom  and  the  women  to  the 
bride  ;  they  danced  and  sang  till  night  ;  and  as  soon 
as  darkness  succeeded  the  light  of  day,  they  pre- 
sented the  bride  to  the  husband,  and  the  ceremony 
was  closed.  The  piaches  had  no  right  with  respect 
to  the  first  wives,  who  were  exclusively  legitimate  ; 
those  whom  they  afterwards  married  were  only  adop- 
tive or  supernumerary.  Men  of  distinction  amongst 
them  were  very  delicate  with  regard  to  their  first  alli- 
ance. To  be  worthy  the  hand  of  a  chief,  the  wife  must 
be  descended  of  a  family  distinguished  by  the  military 
exploits,  or  other  remarkable  actions,  of  some  of  her 
ancestors. 

Upon  the  borders  of  the  Oronoko,  these  sorts  of  ce- 
remonies are  nearly  the  same.  The  only  difference 
is  in  the  kind  of  Epithalamia  which  some  old  dames 
sing  to  the  young  brides.  Ah  !  my  daughter,  says 
one  of  them,  what  torment  thou  preparest  for  thyself! 
Hadst  thou  foreseen  them,  thou  wouldst  not  have 
married.  Ah!  says  another,  couldst  thou  have 
believed,  that  in  the  conjugal  state,  thou  wouldst 
pass  a  single  moment  without  shedding  tears  of 
blood?  The  pains  of  childbed,  says  a  third,  are 
nothing  compared  to  those  wTith  which  thy  husband 
shall  afflict  thee  ;  he  shall  be  thy  tyrant  and  thou 
shalt  be  his  victim. 

Deplorable  situation  of  the  Women  of  Oronoko. 

These  predictions  are  but  too  well  fulfilled  ;  for 
besides  what  the  women  have  to  suffer  amongst  the 
VOL.  I.  nh 


210 

savages  in  general,  those  of  the  Oronoko  experience 
a  treatment  elsewhere  unparalellecl.  The  day  of  her 
nuptials  is  the  last  that  a  female  of  Oronoko  hus  not 
to  lament  the  unhappy  lot  of  her  sex.  All  domestic 
labours  without  exception  form  her  task.  The  toil 
of  culture  and  harvest  must  be  performed  by  her 
hands.  Neither  the  embarrassments  of  pregnancy, 
nor  the  duty  of  suckling  her  children,  exempt  her 
from  any  part  of  the  painful  toils  which  are  imposed 
by  the  matrimonial  state.  She  stands  exposed  to  the 
heat  of  a  scorching  sun,  to  the  torrents  which  rush  from 
the  sky,  and  she  mingles  her  blood  with  her  sweat, 
whilst  her  barbarous  husband,  supinely  redinirgin 
his  hammock,  smokes  his  segar,  and  copiously  re- 
gales himself  with  spirituous  liquors,  without  ad- 
dressing a  single  word  to  his  companion  exhausted 
with  fatigue.  What  do  I  say  ?  this  unfortunate 
creature  is  not  only  excluded  from  partaking  of  the 
repast  which  she  has  herself  prepared,  but,  standing 
silently  by  him,  she  waits  till  her  oppressor  has  fi- 
nished his  meal,  in  order  to  feed  on  the  fragments. 
What  an  infamous  abuse  of  the  right  of  the  stronger  ! 
European  women,  and  particularly  you,  women  of 
France,  caressed  in  your  infancy,  adored  in  your 
youth,  and  respected  in  your  old  age,  accustomed  to 
be  the  life  and  object  of  pleasure,  to  distribute  chains 
which  the  greatest  heroes  are  proud  to  carry,  to  ex- 
tend your  protection  to  men,  instead  of  being  obli- 
to  court  theirs,  be  grateful  to  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion, for  the  vast  difference  between  your  state  and 
that  of  the  women  of  Oronoko, 


211 

The  Ofomaques  are  the  only  Indians  who  allow 
their  women  to  join  in  their  public  diversions,  but, 
notwithstanding  they  indulge  them  at  intervals  in 
this  particular,  yet,  with  respect  to  domestic  drudgery, 
they  place  them  upon  the  same  footing  with  the  rest 
cf  their  country  women. 

Polygamy. 

They  are  likewise  the  only  Indians  who  have  not 
admitted  of  polygamy.  Among  them  every  hus- 
band is  confined  to  one  wife  ;  and  what  is  extraor- 
dinary, young  men  are  always  married  to  old 
women,  and  old  men  to  young  girls;  for  houshold  af- 
fairs, in  their  opinion,  are  better  managed,  when  the 
inexperience  of  youth  is  put  under  the  direction  of  the 
prudence  of  old  age. 

All  the  other  Indians  take  as  many  wives  as  they 
think  proper,  and  their  number  does  not  in  the  smal- 
lest degree  tend  to  mitigate  the  misery  and  oppres- 
sion of  their  abject  situation  ;  it  seems  to  be  the  whole 
object  of  their  lives  to  support  their  common  husband 
in  idleness  and  drunkenness.  The  chiefs  have  most 
wives  ;  and  amongst  some  nations  they  are  the  only 

persons  who  have  more  than  one,, 

/ 

Divorce. 

It  would  not  be  expected  that  men,  who  entertain 
the  most  sovereign  contempt  for  women,  should  at- 
tach much  value  to  their  fidelity,  for,  according  to  a 
maxim  commonly  received  on  the  subject  of  love. 


212 

jealousy  is  an  indication  of  ardent  attachment.  Yet, 
by  a  fatality  inseparable  from  the  lot  of  the  Indian 
women,  the  same  man  who  discovers  no  charm  in 
their  persons,  punishes  them  for  being  able  for  a  mo- 
ment to  engage  the  partiality  of  another.  Amongst 
the  Caribbees,  both  delinquents  are  publicly  put  to 
death  by  the  people  ;  but  amongst  the  greater  part 
of  other  nations,  the  offended  husband  retaliates  on 
the  wife  of  the  offender,  and  the  revenge  falls  no 
thing  short  of  the  offence. 

Exchange  of  Women. 

There  are  some  nations  to  be  seen,  where  hus- 
bands exchange  wives  with  one  another  for  a  limited 
time,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  they  take  them 
back  again  without  the  smallest  difficulty  arising  be- 
tween the  contracting  parties. 

Education  of  Children. 

The  manners  of  the  Indians  sufficiently  indicate 
what  sort  of  education  fathers  bestow  upon  their 
children  ;  it  is  sufficient  to  have  seen  what  bad  hus- 
bands they  are,  to  be  able  to  judge  Avhat  bad  fathers 
they  must  prove.  From  the  tenderness  which 
they  manifest  for  their  children  in  their  earlier  days, 
one  would  think  they  were  no  strangers  to  parental 
affection,  and  were  sensible  of  the  duties  im- 
posed by  the  paternal  character ;  but  these  de- 
monstrations have  no  other  motive  than  fear  lest 
their  offspring  should  die  in  childhood.  As  soon  as 


213 

they  are  strong  enough  to  procure  for  themselves  the 
means  of  subsistence,  all  that  they  have  further  to 
expect  from  the  father  is  an  example  of  laziness, 
drunkenness,  falshood  and  treachery.  The  male 
children  commonly  leave  their  father's  house  at  the 
age  of  twelve  and  do  not  return  to  it  till  they  are 
eighteen. 

Hatred  of  Sons  against  their  Fatliers. 

There  exists  not  in  the  world  a  more  unnatural 
son  than  an  Indian.  Far  from  loving  and  respecting 
the  author  of  his  birth,  he  entertains  a  mortal  hatred 
against  him  ;  he  frequently  waits  with  impatience 
for  such  an  increase  of  his  own  strength,  and  diminu- 
tion of  his  father's,  as  will  enable  him  to  lift  up  his 
criminal  hand  against  him  ;  and  such  atrocities  are 
allowed  to  pass  with  impunity. 

We  cannot  but  admire  divine  justice,  when  "we 
observe  that  this  hatred  of  the  children  is  never  di- 
rected against  the  mother  ;  witnesses  of  her  suffer- 
ings, and  companions  of  her  unhappy  life,  till  they 
attain  the  age  of  manhood,  they  cherish  sentiments 
of  pity  towards  her,  which  time  matures  into  tender- 
ness. 

Dress. 

No  costume  appears  so  beautiful  to  an  Indian  as 
to  have  his  whole  body  painted  with  red.  Oil  and 
rocou  are  the  ingredients  which  compose  the  paint, 
and  every  one  applies  it  either  with  his  own  hand,  or 


214 

by  that  of  another.  Children  upon  the  breast  under- 
go the  same  operation  twice  every  day.  No  Indian 
thinks  himself  naked  when  he  is  painted.  It  would 
require  a  long  time  to  persuade  him,  that  it  is  more 
decent  to  dress  than  to  paint  himself.  When  stran- 
gers of  the  Indian  race  come  to  a  family,  hospitality 
requires  that  the  women  should  wash  away  the  paint 
that  is  sullied  by  the  dirt  or  dust,  and  give  them  a 
fresh  varnish. 

On  festival  days,  their  painting  presents  designs 
of  different  colours.  To  this  decoration  the  men  add 
feathers  for  the  head,  and  bits  of  gold  and  silver  sus- 
pendtd  from  the  ear  and  nose.  There  are  some  na- 
tions, such  as  the  Guaraunos  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Oronoko,  who  carry  pride  so  far  as  to  heighten  this 
magnificent  costume,  by  a  cotton  apron  of  six  inches 
square  ;  yet  this  piece  of  coquetry  is  only  permit- 
ted to  females. 

Such   were  the   men  with  whom   the   Spaniards 

were  obliged  to  dispute  the  conquest  of  Terra  Firma, 
and  such  are,  at  the  present  day,  those  who  have  pre- 
served their  independence,  in  spite  of  the  arms  of 
the  conqueror,  and  the  pacific  morality  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. 

Indians  not  reduced, 

In  the  captain-generalship  of  Caraccas,  there  re- 
main a  few  Indians  to  be  reduced.  The  greatest 
number  is  in  the  south-west  part  of  Guiana,  above 
the  Falls  of  Atures.  The  zeal  of  the  Franciscan 
mission  of  Cumana  is  totally  baffled  by  the  aversion 


215 

which  these  Indians  have  for  the  civil  life.     If  they 
allow  themselves  to  be  approached,  it  is  in  order  the 
more  effectually  to  deceive ;  if  ihey  pretend  to  listen  to 
the  missionaries,  it  is  in  order  to  obtain  the  presents 
which  are  always  the  price  of  entrance  into  the  social 
life,  but  as  soon  as  the  generosity  of  the  Franciscan 
ceases,    they   carry   away  whatever  they  have   re- 
ceived, and  never  appear  again.     Desarts,  lakes,  ri- 
vers and  mountains  present  to  the  missionaries   ob- 
stacles which  it  is  not  in  their  power  to  surmount. 
Every  thing  announces,  that  a  great  part  of  that  im- 
mense space,  which  lies  between  the  sources  of  the 
Oronoko  and  the  Amazon,  will  be  for  a  long  time, 
if  not  forever,  inaccessible   to  the  Europeans;  but 
although  the  Indians  remain  peaceable  possessors  of 
it,  there  is  nothing  to  be  apprehended  either  from 
their  ambition  or  audacity.     Far  from  meditating  to 
make  encroachments  on  the  territory  of  others,  they 
think  themselves  sufficiently  happy  in  being  able  to 
preserve  their  own,  which  nothing  secures,  but  its 
vast  extent  and  its  very  difficult  access.     The  nation 
of  the  Guaraunos,  who  occupy,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
numerous  islands  which  are  formed  by  the  mouths 
of  the  Oronoko,  is  one  of  those  who  never  received 
the   Spanish  laws,  nor  the  blessings  of  Christianity. 
Situated  between  the  civilized  part  of  Guiana,  antl 
the  province   of  Cumana,  they   stand   independent 
within  the  Spanish  government,  and  atheists   in  the 
midst  of  christians.     This  phenomenon  is  owing  to 
their  soil,  which  during  six  iveeks,  is  covered  with 
water,  by  the  rise  of  the  Oronoko,  and  during  the 
other  six  weeks  is  overflowed  twice  a  day  by  the 


JIG 

tide.  Vast  swarms  of  various*  insects,  forming  a 
cloud  which  continually  covers  all  these  islands, 
render  them  uninhabitable  to  all  except  the  natives. 
Besides,  as  these  Indians  never  commit  depredations 
on  the  soil  where  law  and  religion  are  established, 
the  government  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  under- 
take any  military  expedition  against  the  Guaraunos. 
From  a  similar  policy,  they  have  for  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  abstained  from  hostilities, 
with  respect  to  all  Indians,  excepting  such  as  by 
their  misdemeanours  and  rebellion  incurred  the  chas- 
tisement required  by  public  order  and  rendered  in- 
dispensable for  the  security  of  the  Spanish  sove- 
reignty. 

The  Guaraunos  amount  to  the  number  of  eight 
thousand,  and  next  to  the  Otomaques,  are  the  gay- 
est of  the  Indian  nations.  They  frequent  the  civili- 
zed villages  which  lie  to  the  north  and  south  of  the 
Oronoko,  in  order  to  sell  fish,  which  they  have  al- 
ways in  abundance,  and  hammocks  which  they  ma- 
nufacture. The  missionaries  avail  themselves  of 
these  opportunities  to  catechise  them  ;  but,  if  Ave  are 
to  judge  from  the  little  success  of  their  efforts  for  more 
than  a  century,  these  Indians  persist  in  the  savage 
life,  more  from  a  decided  preference,  than  igno- 
rance of  the  advantages  which  are  promised  by  civi- 
lization. It  is  true,  that  in  a  political  view,  their 
independence  is  of  little  importance  to  public  order, 
as  it  experiences  no  interruption  from  the  use 
which  thcv  make  of  it. 


217 
Goahiros. 

The  case  is  different  with  respect  to  the  Goahiros, 
a  nation  situated  between  the  jurisdiction  of  Mara- 
caibo  and  the  Rio,  or  River  de  la  Hacha.     They  oc- 
cupy the  coast  for  more  than  thirty  leagues,  and  ex- 
tend equally  far  into  the  interior  part  of  the  country. 
They  have  at  all  times  been  considered  as  the  most 
ferocious  of  the  maritime  Indians.     The  Spaniards 
never  even  attempted  to  conquer  them.     When  the 
missionary    system    was  adopted,    some   Capuchin 
Friars  were  sent  there  from  the  kingdom  of  Valen- 
cia, who,  after  much  time  and  persevering   labour, 
succeeded  in  teaching  them  some  Christian  truths, 
as  well  as  some  resignation  to  the  Spanish  authority. 
They  prevailed,  upon  them  to  swear  allegiance  to  the 
king,  which  amounted  to  no  more  than  an  acknow- 
ledgment of  his  right  to  nominate  their  cacique,  who 
commanded  in  the   king's  name.      They   likewise 
submitted   to    some   religious   practices,   and  gave 
hopes  of   becoming    good  Christians  and  citizens, 
when  an  event   unexpectedly  took   place  in   1766, 
that  irrecoverably  threw  them  back  to  that  barbarism, 
from  which  they  had  hardly  ever  emerged. 

A  missionary  being  informed,  that  an  Indian  of  a 
neighbouring  village  was  in  the  habit  of  coming  to 
pass  the  night  with  a  female  Indian  in  his  vicinity, 
ordered  him  to  be  taken  and  whipped.  His  orders  were 
unfortunately  but  too  faithfully  executed.  The  In- 
dian, all  covered  with  blood,  retired  to  his  people, 

T  i 


218 

loudly  demanding  vengeance  for  the  injury  he  had 
sustained. 

He  had  but  to  show  himself,  to  make  his  case  be 
taken  up  as  a  common  cause.  The  Indians  im- 
mediately flew  to  arms  and  fell  upon  the  village, 
where  the  chastisement  had  been  inflicted.  All  the 
inhabitants  they  massacred  without  distinction,  and 
ravaged  or  reduced  to  ashes  whatever  was  exposed  to 
their  destructive  fury.  Although  the  insurrection 
was  principally  against  the  missionaries,  yet  they  had 
the  good  fortune  to  make  their  escape.  The  revolt 
became  universal  over  the  territory  of  that  nation. 
They  swore  they  would  resume  their  former  habits 
of  life,  which  they  had  abandoned  with  regret ;  and 
their  conduct  since  evinces  that  they  are  determined 
not  to  violate  their  oath. 

Since  that  fatal  period,  no  missionary  has  been  so 
fool-hardy  as  to  expose  himself  to  inevitable  death, 
by  attempting  with  persuasive  art  to  regain  an 
ascendant  over  men  whose  hearts  are  impenetrably 
steeled  against  all  moral  impressions. 

Their  number  amounts  to  thirty  thousand.  They 
are  governed  by  a  cacique,  for  whom  they  have 
erected  a  citadel  upon  a  small  eminence,  called  la 
Teta,  (the  P  f )  at  the  distance  of  some  leagues  from 
the  sea.  They  breed  horses  upon  which  they  ride 
with  incredible  rapidity.  Their  troops  are  all  mount- 
ed, each  soldier  carrying  a  carabine,  cartridge-box, 
bow  and  quiver.  They  experience  a  great  deal  of 
friendship  from  the  English  of  Jamaica,  who  assist 
them  with  advice,  and  supply  them  with  arms.  We 
are  assured  by  the  Spaniards,  that  this  intercourse 


219 

is  maintained  upon  so  intimate  a  footing  that  the  Goa- 
hiros  send  their  children  to  Jamaica  in  order  to  learn 
to  speak  the  English  language,  to  handle  their  arms 
and  direct  die  artillery.  This  strange  policy  of  the 
English  can  have  no  other  object,  than  that  of  se- 
curing allies,  in  case  of  an  expedition  against  Terra 
Firma. 

If  along  with  these  means  the  Goahiros  had  more 
tactical  knowledge,  more  discipline  and  courage, 
the  tranquillity  of  the  Spanish  settlements  which 
have  the  misfortune  to  be  near  them,  would  be  fre- 
quently disturbed,  or,  to  speak  more  to  the  purpose, 
the  possession  of  them  would  have  been  long  ago 
abandoned  ;  but  having  as  yet  neither  ambition,  nor 
means  to  effect  any  conquest,  they  are  satisfied  with 
making  such  occasional  inroads,  as  have  no  other 
object  than  to  carry  off  some  horses  and  cattle,  to 
gratify  their  revenge  by  ravaging  with  impunity  a 
defenceless  country,  or  their  rapaciousness  by  forcing 
the  inhabitants  to  capitulate  upon  such  terms  as  they 
chuse  to  dictate.  They  have  rarely  any  communi- 
cation with  Maracaibo,  because,  as  its  jurisdicton 
is  the  principal  scene  of  their  robberies  and  atroci- 
ties, the  inhabitants  are  obliged  to  be  continually 
upon  their  guard,  so  as  to  be  always  ready  to  repel 
the  aggressions  of  such  troublesome  neighbours. 

Their  intercourse  rvith  Rio-de-la-Hache. 

The  Spanish  city,  which  the  Indians  chiefly  fre- 
quent is  Rio-de-la-Hache,  which  depends  upon  the 
viceroyalty  of  Santa  Fe.  To  this  city  they  resort 
in  order  to  barter  their  commodities.  T.  hey  set  out 


220 

in  bands,  most  commonly  preceded  by  their  u  ives, 
who  carry  their  children  upon  their  backs,  besides 
other  burthens,  too  heavy  even  for  beasts  of  burthen. 
Notwithstanding  they  are  in  the  h.ibit  of  this  traffic, 
so  great  is  their  distrust,  that  they  have  never  adopt- 
ed the  use  of  specie,  for  fear  of  imposition.  Their 
transactions  are  all  in  the  way  of  barter  ;  what  they 
exchange  are,  generally,  horses  and  oxen,  and  it  is 
rare  that  they  take  any  thing  in  return  but  spirituous 
liquors,  of  which  they  are  passionately  fond.  When 
their  necessities  are  pressing,  they  have  recourse  to 
arms,  and  threaten  the  nearest  city  or  village.  Af- 
ter some  hostilities  have  been  committed,  the  Spa- 
niards sue  for  peace,  which  is  readily  granted,  pro- 
vided some  pipes  of  brandy,  together  with  some 
other  articles  of  little  importance,  cement  the  condi- 
tions. 

At  Rio-de-la-Hache,  treaties  of  this  kind  more 
frequently  occur,  than  any  where  else,  and  the  pre- 
sents by  which  they  are  purchased,  are  attended 
with  some  abuses.  In  fact,  they  only  tend  to  en- 
courage  the  Indians  to  assume  a  hostile  attitude 
without  any  real  grounds  of  offence,  and  by  the  faci- 
lity with  which  the  persons  charged  with  the  nego- 
tiation can  exaggerate  the  amount  of  what  has  been 
advanced  for  pacification,  they  procure  themselves 
emoluments  which  must  render  such  events  more 
to  be  desired  than  apprehended. 

These  Indians  are  always  well  received  in  all  the 
Spanish  cities  to  which  they  resort  from  motives  of 
business  or  curiosity  ;  but  they  are  so  regardless  of 
the  laws  of  reciprocity,  as  to  receive  no  Spaniard  into 


221 

their  country.  Whoever  would  take  the  liber- 
ty of  intruding  upon  them,  would  pay  for  his  impru- 
d-iice  by  the  loss  of  his  life.  It  is,  nevertheless,  a 
matter  of  fact,  that  Spanish  smugglers,  on  pay- 
ing a  certain  consideration,  obtain  a  passport  and 
escort,  to  traverse  the  country  of  the  Goahiros,  and 
that  from  this  spirit  of  accommodation,  their  inde- 
pendence has  acquired  many  parti zans  amongst  the 
Spaniards  themselves.  Theirprincipal  and  most  useful 
connection  is  formed  with  the  English  of  Jamaica. 
By  them,  as  I  have  already  stated,  they  are  supplied 
with  the  arms  and  ammunition  which  they  require, 
and  the  stuffs  with  which  they  are  clothed ;  for  whilst 
they  remained  under  the  Spanish  dominion,  they  con- 
tracted the  habit  of  wearing  clothes,  which  they  still 
retain. 

The  women  use  a  kind  of  robe,  which  reaches  a 
little  below  the  knee,  and  fashioned  so  as  to  leave  the 
right  arm  bare.  The  men  wear  a  very  short  shirt, 
breeches  which  cover  one  half  of  the  thigh,  and  a 
small  cloak  tucked  up  to  the  shoulder.  This  dress 
is  set  off  on  both  sexes  by  a  great  variety  of  feathers, 
bits  of  shining  metals,  and  gold  ridiculously  fixed  to 
their  ears,  noses,  and  arms.  The  articles,  which 
they  furnish  to  the  English  in  exchange  for  the  mer- 
chandise they  carry  to  them,  are  pearls,  which  they 
fish  in  their  own  ports,  horses,  mules,  and  oxen. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance,  and  what  by 
a  single  stroke  of  the  pencil  expresses  the  ferocity 
and  perfidy  of  the  Goahiros,  that  the  English,  who 
frequent  their  ports  as  intimate  friends,  rarely  ven- 
ture to  go  on  shore,  from  a  well  grounded  fear  of 


222 

being  assassinated  by  them.  The  business  of  bar- 
tering is  transacted  on  board,  and  the  ships  remain 
there  as  short  as  possible. 

The  ships  which  are  cast  upon  the  coasts  by 
the  accidents  of  the  sea,  immediately  become  the 
prey  of  these  cannibals  ;  they  begin  with  massacreing 
the  crew,  and  devouring-  their  flesh  ;  the  cargo  is 
divided  amongst  those  who  are  present  on  the  oc- 
casion. 

On  the  eastern  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Goa- 
hiros  are  the  Cocinas  Indians,  who  live  like  savages, 
but  are  so  cowardly  and  pusillanimous  as  to  allow 
the  Goahiros  to  exercise  an  authority,  which  the 
bold  always  acquire  over  the  timid.  These  savages 
are,  in  fact,  nothing  but  the  vassals  of  other  sa- 
vages. 

The  sketch  which  we  have  given  of  the  charac- 
ter of  these  Indians  is  undoubtedly  more  than  is  ne- 
cessary to  prove  that  the  existence  of  such  a  people 
presents  innumerable  evils,  and  not  a  single  advan- 
tage. Policy,  humanity,  and  religion  at  once  re- 
monstrate against  the  criminal  use  which  these  sa- 
vages make  of  their  independence.  The  object 
here  is  not  to  subdue  a  people  who  know  how  to  en- 
joy their  liberty  without  abusing  it  ;  it  is  to  compel 
men  to  act  like  men  ;  to  make  them  renounce  prac- 
tices which  rank  them  with  ferocious  beasts  ;  to 
impress  them  with  a  sense  of  the  dignity  of  their 
species  ;  and  imperiously  to  call  them  in  spite  of 
their  reluctance  to  partake  of  the  blessings  of 
social  life. 

It  is  of  importance  to  the  peace  and  security  of 
the  adjacent  countries,  to  the  facility  of  interior  in- 


223 

tercourse,  to  the  freedom  of  navigation  on  the  coast, 
to  the  honour  and  stability  of  the  Spanish  authority, 
that  the  soil,  occupied  by  these  lawless  bancliui, 
should  at  length  be  reduced  under  the  power  of  the 
law.  As  long  as  Terra  Firma  shall  harbour  in  its 
bosom  this  band  of  atrocious  offenders  equally  dis- 
posed wickedly  to  co-operate  with  the  disturbers  of 
tranquillity  at  home,  and  to  favour  the  designs  of 
the  enemies  abroad,  it  will  always  be  exposed  to  im- 
mediate danger  and  continual  alarm. 

I  know  that  the  government  of  Terra  Firma  en- 
tertains no  doubt  with  respect  to  the  necessity  of  re- 
ducing the  Goahiros  Indians  ;  I  know  that  D.  Fer- 
nando ?vliyares  Gonzales,  the  present  governor  of  Ma- 
racaibo,  a  man  who  is  both  able  and  willing  to  promote 
the  public  good,  wages  incessant  war  against  these 
savages,  in  order  to  prevent  by  arms  the  excesses 
to  which  they  would  proceed,  if  they  were  not  kept 
in  check.  In  1801,  there  were  confined  in  the  pri- 
son of  Maracaibo,  forty-nine  Goahiros  Indians,  who 
were  detained  as  hostages  ;  amongst  whom  was  a 
female  cousin  of  the  cacique,  in  whose  release  the 
nation  took  a  very  lively  interest.  The  Spanish  go- 
vernment offered  to  restore  her,  provided  they  would 
surrender  one  Martin  Roderique,  a  mulatto  of  Rio- 
de-la-Hache,  whose  enterprising  and  malignant  spi- 
rit, occasioned  serious  mischief  to  the  province,  by 
the  counsels  which  he  gave  the  Goahiros  ;  but 
the  exchange  did  not  correspond  with  the  views  of 
the  Indians  and  in  1803,  the  prisoner  was  still  in 
custody  of  the  Spaniards.  This  same  governor  has 
done  every  thing  that  a  man  could  do,  in  order  to 


224 

prevent  these    Indians   from    continuing    to   be    a 
scourge  to  the  neighbouring  countries,  and  compel 
them  to  submit  to  the  Spanish  authority.     His  differ- 
ent representations  have  been  dispatched  to  the  vice- 
roy of  Santa  Fe,  whose  concurrence  is  necessary  to 
make  an  attack  on  the  west  side,  in  concert  with 
that  which  would  be  made  on  the  side  of  Maracaibo. 
The  viceroy,   who  resides   at  the  distance  of  two 
hundred  leagues,  could  not  give  any  orders  without 
consulting  the    governor   of  Rio-de-la- Hache,  who 
has  been  always  dilatory  and  indecisive,  and  some- 
times avowedly  opposed  to  the  measure.     The  Go- 
ahiros,  according  to  those  who  contend  against  re- 
ducing them,  are  a  formidable  nation,  well  mounted, 
armed,  and  disciplined,  and  can  bring  into  the  field 
forty  thousand  effective  men.     Their  only  ambition, 
at  present,  is  to  secure  a  commercial  communication, 
through  which,  by  means  of  barter,  they  may  com- 
mand the  necessary  supplies  of  liquor  and  clothing. 
If  they  have  recourse  to  military  operations,  it  is  easy, 
by  a  seasonable  treaty,  to  terminate  hostilities.    But  if 
they  are  attacked,  barely  u  ith  the  forces  which  the 
neighbouring   provinces  can   march   against  them, 
there   is  reason  to  fear  that  their  ambition  may  be 
roused,  and  that  instead  of  repelling  invasion,  they 
may  conceive  the  idea  of  achieving  conquests,  so 
that  the  fate  of  the  neighbouring  provinces  will  be 
inevitably,  to  become  a  prey  to  their  robbery  and 
ferocity.     These  reasons,  mo/e  plausible  than  just, 
and  founded  more  on  sordid  views,  than  disinterested 
integrity,   h:ive  frustrated  all  the  efforts  of  the   go- 
vernor of  Maracaibo,   who  beholds  with    iiidigna- 


don,  a  handful  of  barbarians,  in  the  heart  of  a  civi- 
lized nation,  commit  excesses  of  every  kind  with 
the  certainty  of  impunity. 

At  all  events,  the  epoch  cannot  be  far  distant, 
when  the  Spaniards  will  invade  the  territory  of  the 
Go^ihiros,  if  they  wish  to  prevent  their  own  from 
being  invaded. 

Civilized  Indians. 

From  the  Indians  who  still  lead  a  savage  life  his- 
torical order  leads  us  to  those  who  are  under  the 
government  of  law.  We  have  seen  that  the  system 
of  rigour  which  was  adopted  by  the  first  conquerors, 
was  speedily  succeeded  by  a  system  of  lenity  and 
kindness;  and  instead  of  dooming  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  America,  to  slavery  and  death,  the 
kings  of  Spain  ordained,  that  government  should 
protect  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and 
personal  liberty.  They  wished  to  place  them  oa 
the  footing  of  vassals,  not  of  slaves,  of  subjects,  not 
of  victims.  The  policy  of  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment was  only  to  reduce  their  independence,  and 
although  its  right  to  accomplish  that  object  was  as 
problematical  as  that  of  enslaving  them,  yet  when 
divested  of  all  coercive  means,  it  became  more  tole- 
rable than  it  was  when,  under  the  impulse  of  rapa- 
city and  revenge,  acts  of  cruelty  and  atrocity  were 
committed  the  most  shocking  that  ever  afflicted  hu* 
inanity. 

VOL.  I.  K  k 


226 
Excessive  lenity  of  the  laws  in  their  favour. 

Few  foreign  writers  have  rendered  to  the  Spanish 
government  the  justice  which  is  due  to  it,  with 
respect  to  its  treatment  of  the  Indians.  The  Abbe 
Raynal,  an  ardent  and  profound  author,  too  enthu- 
siastic to  be  impartial,  too  vehement  to  be  correct, 
presents,  with  respect  to  the  present  state  of  the  In- 
dians, an  idea  which  is  not  applicable  to  any  of  the 
Spanish  possessions,  still  less  to  the  captain-general- 
ship of  Caraccas.  Robertson,  likewise  a  philoso- 
pher, but  more  respectable  as  an  historian,  has 
made  a  nearer  approach  to  truth,  without  being  suf- 
ficiently explicit  in  the  declaration  of  it ;  for  the  Spa-, 
nioh  laws  are  still  more  favourable  to  the  Indians 
than  he  represents. 

The  Spanish  legislator  has  studied  to  give  that 
class  of  men  all  the  advantages  which  was  deemed 
compatible  with  their  dependence  on  the  mother 
country. 

It  may  even  be  said,  that  their  disposition  to  fa- 
vour them  has  rendered  them  as  useless  to  society, 
as  society  itself  appears  useless  to  them. 

If  laws  ought  to  be  adapted  to  the  manners  of  the 
people  for  whom  they  are  intended  ;  if  they  are  good 
only  in  proportion  as  as  they  tend  to  repress  vice, 
correct  errors  and  create  virtues ;  the  code  which 
regulates  the  Indians  is  very  far  from  fulfilling  its 
object.  One  of  the  primary  obligations  which  ought 
to  have  been  imposed  on  beings  whose  distinguishing 
character  is  idleness,  was  that  of  industry.  The 


227 

magistrate  ought  to  have  been  satisfied  at  first  with 
pointing  out  the  nature  of  that  industry,  and  to  have 
allowed  the  result  to  turn  out  entirely  in  favour  of 
the  Indian.  By  that  mode  of  proceeding,  society 
would  have  speedily  acquired  an  industrious  citizen, 
and  the  king  an  useful  vassal.  But  they  thought,  or 
pretended  to  think,  that  to  lay  any  restraint  upon  the 
inclination  of  the  Indian,  was  to  aim  a  blow  at  his 
liberty.  The  manner  of  employing  his  time  they 
left  to  his  own  discretion,  and  he  preferred  lead- 
ing an  idle  life,  immersed  in  those  vices  with  which 
such  a  life  is  commonly  attended.  This  subject  shall 
be  resumed  in  another  place. 

Measures  to  keep  them  in  dependence. 

With  the  exception  of  some  trifling  precautions 
that  Spain  has  taken  to  frustrate  the  efforts  which 
it  was  unreasonably  supposed  the  Indians  might  make 
to  recover  their  ancient  independence,  an  object  be- 
yond their  faculty  of  thinking,  they  were  left  without 
controul  to  indulge  all  their  propensities,  inclinations 
and  vices. 

The  principal  dispositions  of  the  mother- country, 
in  order  to  insure  her  sovereignty  in  America  were  to 
prohibit  the  Indians  to  carry  any  kind  of  arms  offen- 
sive or  defensive ;  to  debar  them  from  the  use  of 
horses ;  to  prevent  any  Indian  from  learning  the  trade 
of  armorer,  or  dwelling  in  the  house  of  any  person 
where  he  might  acquire  any  notion  of  the  manufac- 
turing, repairing,  or  handling  of  arms  ;  to  oblige  the 
conquered  Indians  to  live  together  in  villages,  instead 


228' 

of  being  scattered  over  the  country  :  to  forbid  every 
Indian  to  pass  from  one  village  to  another,  much  less 
to  transfer  his  residence,  under  the  penalty  *  f  twenty 
lashes  tobe  inflicted  upon  the  delinquent,  and  four  mil- 
led dollars  to  be  levied  upon  the  cacique  who  should 
permit  it;  to  debar  Spaniards,  mulattoes,  and  those  of 
a  mixed  breed,  from  inhabiting  Indian  villages,  for 
fear  of  diffusing  ideas  injurious  to  public  tranquillity. 
All  these  measures,  perfectly  useless  in  the  provin- 
ces of  Caraccas,  are  long  ago  consigned  amongst  the 
number  of  those  regulations  devised  by  speculative 
geniuses,  who  think  themselves  inspired  with  wisdom 
when  they  are  only  under  the  influence  of  imaginary 
fe  irs.  'Hie  disposition  relative  to  the  separation  of 
S  )iniards  from  Indians  is  the  only  one  which  is  vet 
in  force,  less  because  experience  has  demonstrated  its 
utility,  than  for  motives  which  shall  be  explained  in 
chapter  VI.  under  the  article  of  missionaries. 

Their  privileges. 

Whilst  we  view  what  Spain  has  done  in  favour  of 
the  Indians,  let  impartiality  decide,  if  there  ever  has 
been,  in  any  state,  a  class  of  men  loaded  with  more 
important  privileges. 

A' conquered  people  never  could  pretend  to  enjoy 
any  other  political  benefits,  than  those  resulting  from 
the  laws  of  the  power  that  conquered  them  ;  most  com- 
monly, indeed,  they  are  excluded  from  enjoying  any,  or 
otherwise  subjected  to  so  many  exceptions  calculated 
to  retain  them  in  a  state  of  dependence,  that  their  code 
becomes  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  conqueror. 


22S 

Thus  Spain  would  have  appeared  to  the  eyes  of  the 
world  as  acting  generously,  by  giving  her  own  laws  to 
the  Indians.  What  title,  then,  has  she  acquired  to  the 
admiration  of  mankind,  for  the  care  she  has  taken  to 
modify  her  laws,  with  the  intention  of  rendering  her 
new  vassals  happier  than  her  own  subjects  !  Had  such 
a  blessing  redounded  to  a  people,  who  knew  how 
to  appreciate  and  improve  it  to  advantage,  the  con- 
quest of  America  would  have  proved  to  the  natives  a 
truly  happy  revolution,  excepting,  however,  the  first 
age  of  the  effusion  of  Indian  blood,  the  recollection 
of  which  continually  embitters  the  advantages  which 
result  from  civil  and  religious  institutions  in  a  coun- 
try formerly  overrun  with  barbarians  who  had  noth- 
ing but  their  figure  to  identify  their  species. 

The  first  act  of  generosity  of  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment towards  the  Indians  was,  their  allowing  them 
magistrates  of  their  own  class  and  choice.  All  the 
Indian  villages,  under  the  Spanish  dominion,  have  a 
cacique,  descended  from  ancestors  who  held  that  dis- 
tinction before  the  conquest,  if  any  such  exist ;  if 
not,  he  is  nominated  by  the  king.  One  of  the  quali- 
fications indispensable  in  order  to  be  invested  with 
this  dignity,  is  to  be  an  Indian  without  any  mixture 
of  European  or  African  blood. 

The  legislator,  presuming  that  the  caciques  would 
exercise  their  authority  only  to  promote  the  haj  pi- 
ness  of  their  fellow- men,  has  not  been  at  first  parti- 
cularly exact  in  defining  or  circumscribing  its  nature 
and  extent,  but  as  soon  as  it  was  observed  that 
they  shamefully  abused  the  trust  reposed  in 
them,  no  time  was  lost  in  securing  the  Indians  from 


230 

the  injustice  they  experienced  from  their  chiefs. 
I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  describe  the  pow- 
ers which  were  exercised  by  the  caciques,  be- 
cause these  appointments  are  scarcely  to  be  met 
with,  but  in  Mexico  under  the  name  of  Tecles,  and 
in  Peru  under  that  of  Curacas. 

In  the  provinces  dependent  on  Caraccas,  every 
Indian  village  containing  more  than  forty  houses  is 
put  under  the  authority  of  a  cabildo,  or  municipality, 
composed  of  two  Indian  alcades  and  regidors. 

The  whole  police  of  the  village  forms  the  juris- 
diction of  the  cabildo.  The  principal  care  recom- 
mended to  it  by  law,  is  to  repress  drunkenness, 
impiety,  and  every  kind  of  licentiousness  ;  but  such 
is  the  corruption  which  generally  prevails  among 
that  class  of  men,  that  the  Indian  magistrates 
charged  with  the  suppression  of  vice  and  immorality, 
are  themselves  so  deeply  tinctured  with  them,  as  to 
contribute  more  to  propagate,  than  suppress  them. 
Hence  it  frequently  happens,  that  they  punish  in- 
stances of  intemperance  in  others,  which  are 
by  no  means  so  striking  as  those  which  they 
exhibit  in  their  own  conduct.  And  God  knows 
what  proportion  they  fix,  in  cases  of  that  kind,  be- 
tween the  punishment  and  the  crime  ! 

To  remedy  this  abuse,  the  Spanish  government 
has  placed  between  the  Indian  magistrates  and  those 
who  are  amenable  to  their  tribunals,  an  officer  who 
bears,  in  Terra  Firma,  the  name  of  corregidor, 
and  in  the  rest  of  Spanish  America,  protector  of  the 
Indians.  This  office  always  devolves  upon  a  Spa- 


231 

niard  who  is  bound  to  reside  amongst  the  Indians 
in  the  same  village  where  he  exercises  his  functions. 
He  is  stationed  there  in  order  to  prevent  the  Indian 
magistrates  from  abusing  their  authority,  and  from 
inflicting  excessive  punishments.  He  is  empowered 
to  mitigate  all  those  which  appear  to  him  to  have 
been  dictated  by  the  vengeance,  enmity,  drunken- 
ness or  inhumanity  of  the  judge.  This  single  fact 
proves  that  the  Indian  possesses  a  spirit  so  abject, 
ideas  so  base,  that  he  is  more  inclined  to  aggravate 
the  yoke,  by  which  he  and  his  countrymen  are  op- 
pressed, than  to  alleviate  or  shake  it  off ;  and  what 
is  still  more  remarkable,  is,  that  the  conqueror  him- 
self is  obliged  to  restrain  the  arm  of  the  Indian  ma- 
gistrate from  striking,  with  indiscriminate  vengeance, 
these  miserable  creatures,  who  hold  the  same  rank 
among  the  human  species,  as  the  ai,  and  the  unau 
do  among  the  quadrupeds.  To  conclude  all  that  I 
have  to  say,  with  respect  to  the  functions  of  the 
corregidor,  let  me  add,  that  he  is  likewise  charged 
with  the  collection  of  the  poll-tax,  which  is  exacted 
from  the  Indians  under  the  name  of  tribute,  and  fur- 
ther that  he  lends  his  hand  to  the  execution  of  the  laws. 

There  are  but  few  Indian  villages  in  the  captain- 
generalship  of  Caraccas  which  can  pay  the  salary  of 
a  corregidor,  for  which  reason  they  are  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  assigning  to  one  person  a  district  of  three 
or  four  villages,  between  which  he  must  divide  his 
care  and  superintendance. 

The  missionaries,  in  those  villages  which  are  still 
committed  to  their  charge,  perform  the  functions  of 
corregidors,  for  the  benefit  of  the  community ;  for 


232 

the  tribute  is  only  levied  in  those  which  are  sub- 
jected to  the  ordinary  police. 

The  Indian  is  allowed  to  retain  possession  of  the 
land  that  belongs  to  him,  when  he  submits  to  the 
Spanish  authority  ;  if  he  has  none  of  his  own,  they 
allot  to  him  what  is  sufficient  for  his  exigencies, 
provided  he  engages  to  work  it. 

All  the  laws  ordain  that  offences  committed  by 
Indians  be  more  severely  jmnished,^than  if  they 
were  committed  by  Spaniards. 

The  procurators-generul  of  the  audiences  are,  ex 
officio,  the  protectors  of  the  Indians,  and  their  de- 
fenders in  civil  as  well  as  in  criminal  prosecutions. 

The  caciques  and  their  descendants  enjoy  all  the 
privileges  of  the  Spanish  nation. 

The  Indians  are  exempted  from  the  duty  of  the 
Alcavala,  with  respect  to  every  thing  they  sell  on 
their  own  account.  To  form  a  just  idea  of  the  im- 
portance of  this  exemption,  it  is  sufficient  to  sec  the 
article  Alcavala  in  chapter  IX. 

An  annual  tribute  is  exacted  from  the  Indians, 
who  are  no  longer  under  the  management  of  the 
missionaries,  but  is  levied  on  males  alone,  from  the 
age  of  eighteen  to  fifty.  Its  proportion  is  not 
the  same  in  all  the  Spanish  settlements,  but  in 
Terra  Firma  it  amounts  to  about  two  milled  dollars. 
We  shall  see  how  it  is  appropriated  in  chapter  IX. 
The  lightest  inconvenience,  the  smallest  inclemency 
of  the  weather,  the  most  frivolous  pretext  is  suffi- 
cient wirh  the  greatest  part  of  the  corregidors  to 
obtain  a  dispensation  from  the  payment  of  it.  Ne- 
vertheless, it  frequently  happens,  on  the  approach 


23S 

of  the  term  for  collecting  this  tax,  which  is  certainly 
not  a  great  one  in  a  country  so  fertile  as  Terra 
Firma,  that  some  of  those  upon  whom  it  is  to  be 
levied  take  flight  and  seek  an  asylum  amongst  the 
wild  Indians. 

One  of  the  most  advantageous  privileges  of  tha 
Indians  is  that  of  being  considered  as  minors  in  all 
their  civil  transactions.  It  is  left  to  their  discretion 
to  execute  or  not  to  execute  whatever  contracts 
thev  m.ike  with  the  Spaniards  without  the  interposition 
of  the  Judges.  They  can  insist  on  cancelling  them  in 
every  stage  of  any  business.  Their  fixed  property  can- 
not be  legally  purchased  but  at  a  judiciary  auction  or 
sheriff's  sales.  If  the  article  to  be  sold  is  of  little 
value,  the  permission  of  the  judge  is  sufficient ;  but 
that  is  not  granted,  till  it  appears  by  the  most  satis- 
factory vouchers,  that  the  bargain  is  advantageous 
to  the  Indian. 

It  was  doubtless  impossible  for  the  law  to  carry  its 
impartiality  further.  Before  we  examine  the  results, 
we  must  see  what  the  church  has  done,  on  her  part, 
in  order  to  rank  the  Indians  amongst  the  number  of 
the  faithful. 

Distinguished  favours  which  the  church  grants  them, 

The  inquisition  which  possesses  an  absolute  right 
over  the  consciences  of  all  Spaniards,  possesses  none 
over  those  of  the  Indians.  Their  crimes  of  heresy 
and  apostacy  are  amenable  to  the  episcopal  tribunals ; 
and  their  sorceries  to  the  secular  tribunals  ;  but  these 

VOL.  I.  L  1 


liabilities  are  mere  formalities,  for  there  never  has 
been  an  instance  of  a  legal  prosecution  carried  on 
against  an  Indian  for  such  crimes. 

According  to  the  council  of  Lima,  ecclesiastic 
censures  can  in  no  case  be  inflicted  on  an  Indian. 

i 

His  ignorance  is  a  sufficient  apology  for  all  such  reli- 
gious offences  as  he  may  be  guilty  of. 

All  the  instruction,  necessary  to  admit  Indian  adults 
to  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  amounts  only  to  their 
being  brought  to  assent,  by  signs  or  words,  that 
idolatry,  superstition  and  falsehood  are  mortal  sins; 
that  fornication,  adultery,  incest  and  uncleanness, 
are  horrible  sins  ;  and  that  drunkenness,  which  de- 
stroys reason,  is  also  a  sin. 

The  general  custom  is  to  cut  off  the  hair  of  the 
adult  who  is  going  to  receive  baptism.  The  first 
missionaries  observed  with  respect  to  the  Indians, 
who  are  particularly  fond  of  their  hair,  that  rather 
than  lose  it,  they  preferred  the  gates  of  heaven  to  be 
shut  against  them.  The  king,  informed  of  this  ob- 
stacle to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  issued  an 
edict,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1581,  by  which,  con- 
trary to  the  doctrine  of  St.  Paul,  he  dispensed  with 
cutting  their  hair. 

It  is  so  difficult  to  impress  an  Indian  with  the 
utility  of  confession,  that  he  carries  to  the  tribunal 
of  penitence,  neither  the  necessary  contrition  nor 
attrition  ;  he  approaches  with  the  intention  of  neither 
declaring  his  sin,  nor  reforming  his  conduct.  If 
we  were  to  adopt  the  opinion  of  Soto,  that  the  duty 
of  the  confessor  jion  est  interrogare  pcenitentem,  sed 
gudire  confitcntem,  the  confession  of  the  Indian 


235 

would  be  of  very  little  avail.  Instead  of  the  solemnity 
of  deportment  usual  on  such  an  occasion,  there  arise 
between  the  minister  of  the  church  and  the  Indian  who 
confesses,  debates  which  are  sometimes  extremely 
ludicrous.  It  is  rare  that  the  Indian  can  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  put  himself  in  the  attitude  of  a 
penitent.  When  in  the  beginning  of  the  ceremony 
he  is  desired  to  kneel,  he  immediately  squats  on 
the  ground  ;  and  in  this  posture,  ins.tead  of  declaring 
his  sins,  he  stoutly  denies  every  thing,  which  the 
confessor,  knowing  his  practices,  wishes  him  to 
Confess :  he  must  be  absolutely  convicted  of  a 
falsehood,  before  he  will  acknowledge  himself  guilty 
of  any  sin  ;  and  when  reduced  to  this  last  extremity, 
he  frequently  curses  those  who  have  given  in- 
formation to  the  priest.  Such  a  confession  made  by 
a  Spaniard,  or  any  other  Christian  whatever,  would 
be  nothing,  a  thousand  times  worse  than  nothing ; 
but,  if  made  by  an  Indian,  according  to  different 
doctors  of  divinity,  it  is  valid,  provided  the  con- 
fessor extorts  from  him  a  demonstration  of  con- 
trition ;  and  that  is  done  by  dictating  to  him  a  form  of 
contrition  which  the  Indian  mutters  indistinctly.  His 
ignorance  is  so  gross,  and  his  faculties  so  limited, 
that  nothing  else  can  reasonably  be  expected  of 
him  ;  and  according  to  the  theological  axiom, 
facienti  quod  est  in  se,  dens  non  denegat  auxilium, 
it  is  concluded  that  the  Indian  has  thus  well  and 
duly  confessed. 

By  a  particular  favour  of  the  Pope,  the  Indians 
are  not  strictly  bound  to  conform  to  the  rule  of  con- 
fessing during  caster.  It  is  sufficient,  that  they 
confess  once  a  year  even  extra  tempora  pascfus. 


236 

Their  confession  is  allowed  to  be  excellent,  al- 
though it  specifies  neither  the  kind  of  sin,  nor  the 
number  of  times  they  have  committed  it  ;  because 
they  are  ranked  amongst  those  \vho  are  spoken  of  by 
Reginaldoand  Euriquez  :  Rustici  nesciunt  discernerc 
Species  morales  aut  numerum,  see!  crasso  modo  confiten- 
tur;  lu  non  sunt  cogendi  re  pet  ere  tot i us  vitce  confcs- 
siones. 

Divines  recommend  to  impose  slight  penances  on 
the  Indians.  They  are  inclined  to  think  that,  if  even 
they  should  be  entirely  exempted,  that  omission 
would  not  operate  against  them  as  a  mortal  sin  :  for. 
it  is  sufficiently  excusable,  says  the  Monk  John  Bap- 
tist, on  account  of  the  weakness  of  their  memory, 
their  carelessness,  and  lack  of  understanding1. 

The  church  recognizes  so  little  capacity  in  the  In- 
dians, as  to  suppose  it  impossible  to  make  them  com- 
prehend, that  the  god- father  contracts  a  degree  of 
spiritual  relationship  with  the  god- son  and  his  moth- 
er ;  and  upon  account  of  this  ignorance,  it  has  been 
decided  that  they  contract  none.  Nemo  enim  obli- 
gatur  ad  id  quod  omnino  ignorat. 

It  is  in  the  power  of  the  bishops  to  grant  to  the  In- 
dians a  full  dispensation  with  regard  to  that  kind  of 
relationship,  without  being  able  to  extend  any  to  the 
Spaniards  ;  for  it  is  exclusively  in  favour  of  the  In- 
dians. 

The  Indians  are  obliged  to  hear  mass  only  on 
Sundays,  Christmas,  and  New- Year's  day,  Ascen- 
sion and  Corpus  Christi  day,  on  the  festivals  of  the 
Virgin,  viz.  the  Nativity,  the  Purification  and  the  As- 


237 

sumption  ;  and  finally  on  St.  Peter's  day.  That  is 
not  one  half  of  the  days  which  Spaniards  must  hear 
mass  under  the  penalty  of  incurring  mortal  sin.  Furth- 
er, according  to  bishop  Montenegro,  the  Indians  are 
to  be  dispensed  with,  if  they  live  too  far  distant  from 
church,  and  are  afraid  of  getting  wet  upon  the  way 
going  or  coming  ;  if  they  have  any  suspicion  that  the 
corregidor  will  make  them  pay  the  tribute,  or  assign 
them  some  work  ;  if  they  are  under  any  apprehension 
of  receiving  any  correction  from  the  curate  ;  or  if 
they  have  any  reason  to  be  afraid  of  being  made  al- 
cades  against  their  will.  All  these  cases  have  been 
foreseen  and  inserted  in  the  itinerary  of  the  Indian  cu- 
rates. 

The  only  days  which  the  Indians  are  obliged  to  ob- 
serve as  fast-days  are  the  Fridays  of  Lent,  holy  Satur- 
day and  Christmas-eve.  Without  being  obliged  to 
take  a  bull  they  are  at  liberty  to  eat  whatever  is  per- 
mitted to  those  who  purchase  bulls.  In  short,  so 
strong  has  been  the  persuasion,  that  the  best  means 
of  recommending  religion  to  the  Indians  was  to  ac- 
commodate it  to  their  tastes  and  habits,  that  it  be- 
came a  serious  question  among  divines,  whether  it 
was  against  the  laws  of  God  to  eat  human  fiesh,  and 
what  adds  to  the  singularity  of  the  question  is,  that  it 
has  been  decided  in  the  affirmative.  Montenegro, 
whom  I  have  just  cited,  supporting  himself  with  the 
doctrine  of  Lesio  and  Diana,  gravely  says,  in  his 
Itinerario  de  parochos  de  Indios,  lib.  4,  trat.  5.  sect. 
9,  num.  8  :  That  in  case  of  necessity,  one  may  eat 
human  flesh,  without  being  guilty  of  any  sin,  be- 


238 

cause  the  thing  is  not  evil  in  itself.  And  where  does 
he  presume  that  those  cases  of  urgent  necessity  can 
present  themselves  ?  In  the  most  fertile  part  of  the 
globe,  covered  with  forests  where  game  supplies  an 
inexhaustible  resource,  and  watered  with  rivers  a- 
bounding  in  fish,  turtle,  8cc. 

Unhappy  Results. 

From  the  preceding  sketch  may  be  seen  how  much 
policy  and  religion  have  laboured  to  make  the  In- 
dians enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  civilization,  and  in  or- 
der to  accomplish  that  object,  how  much  they  have 
studied  to  render  the  transition  from  the  savage  to  the 
civil  life,  easy  and  gradual.  Where  is  there  an  ex- 
ample of  a  people  so  barbarous,  as  not  to  be  moved 
by  such  care  and  attentions,  or  whose  very  posteri- 
ty would  give  such  proofs  of  stubborn  insensibility  ? 
The  most  stupid,  as  well  as  most  ferocious  of  ani- 
mals, discover  some  sense  of  gratitude  and  attach- 
ment to  those  who  caress,  or  carefully  feed  them. — 
The  Indian  is  singularly  distinguished  in  nature,  by 
an  apathy  and  indifference,  which  is  not  to  be  found 
in  any  other  being.  His  heart,  shut  against  pleasure 
as  well  as  hope,  is  only  accessible  to  fear.  Instead 
of  manly  boldness,  his  character  is  marked  with  ab- 
ject timidity.  His  soul  has  no  spring,  his  mind  no 
vivacity.  As  incapable  of  conceiving,  as  of  reason- 
ing, he  passes  his  life  in  a  state  of  torpid  insensibili- 
ty, which  shows  that  he  is  ignorant  of  himself  and 
cf  every  thing  around  him.  His  ambition  and  de- 
sires never  extend  beyond  his  immediate  wants. — 


239 

This  character,  not  quite  so  prominent  in  the  In- 
dians who  inhabit  cities,  is  perfectly  applicable  to 
those  who  inhabit  villages  under  the  direction  of  a 
Spanish  curate  or  corregidor,  notwithstanding  they 
are  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  generation  of  their  appren- 
ticeship to  the  social  life. 

Difficulty  of  making  tJicm  Citizens. 

All  the  efforts  of  the  legislator  to  inspire  them 
with  a  desire  of  improving  their  natural  faculties 
have  proved  abortive.  Neither  the  good  treatment 
which  they  have  received  on  being  admitted  into  so- 
ciety, nor  the  important  privileges,  with  which  they 
have  been  favoured,  have  been  able  to  eradicate  their 
partiality  for  the  savage  life,  although  at  present  on- 
ly known  to  them  by  tradition.  There  are  very  few 
civilized  Indians,  who  do  not  sigh  after  the  solitude 
of  the  forest,  and  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  re- 
tiring to  it.  This  does  not  arise  from  their  attach- 
ment to  liberty,  but  from  their  finding  the  gloomy 
abode  of  the  forest  more  congenial  with  their  melan- 
choly, superstition  and  utter  contempt  of  the  most  sa- 
cred laws  of  nature.  For  three  ages  have  they  la- 
boured to  impress  on  this  miserable  race  of  men  some 
sense  of  right  and  wrong,  and  yet  they  are  altogeth- 
er regardless  of  the  right  of  property,  when  they  can 
violate  it  with  impunity  ;  they  will  not  abstain  from, 
continual  intoxication,  as  long  as  they  are  supplied 
with  liquor  ;  they  will  be  guilty  of  incest  whenever 
they  have  a  convenient  opportunity ;  of  lying  and  per- 
jury whenever  it  answers  their  purpose  ;  and  they 


240 

will  never  submit  to  labour,  but  when  compelled  by 
hunger. 

The  Indians  are  so  much  accustomed  to  the  practice 
of  lying,  and  so  little  sensible  of  the  sacred  obligation 
of  truth,  that  the  Spaniards  have  thought  it  proper, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  unhappy  effects  which  their 
testimony  might  cause  to  innocent  persons,  to  pass  a 
law  by  which  it  is  enacted,  that  not  less  than  six  In- 
dians are  to  be  admitted  as  witnesses  in  one  cause, 
and  the  testimony  of  these  six,  shall  only  be  equiva- 
lent to  the  sworn  evidence  of  one  white  person. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  statesman,  with  all  his  expe- 
dients and  resources,  has  not  been  able  to  accomplish 
his  object ;  let  us  now  see  whether  the  minister  of  re- 
ligion, with  all  the  mildness  of  his  morality,  has  been 
more  successful. 

Greater  difficulty  of  making  them  christians. 

There  is  not,  perhaps,  in  the  world,  a  creature 
more  unfit  for  being  trained  in  the  principles  of 
Christianity,  than  an  Indian.  Without  capacity  to 
comprehend  divine  truths,  without  sensibility  to 
raise  his  thoughts  to  heaven,  without  maturity  of 
reflection  sincerely  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  an 
only  God,  he  thinks  as  little  of  the  future  as  he 
does  of  the  present  state.  He  seems  to  pay  atten- 
tion ;  nay,  even  mutters  the  doctrine  which  is 
taught  him,  with  a  docility  which  has  all  the  ap- 
pearance of  submission,  whilst  it  is  only  the  effect 
of  carelessness  and  indifference.  If  the  idea  of  an 
only  God  be  already  above  his  conception,  what 


241 

signify  to  him  the  mysteries  on  which  the  Christian 
religion   is  founded?     They  are   barriers  which   he 
dot  s  not  think   of  approaching,  much   less  of  sur- 
mounting.    What  will  always  baffle  the  most  zea- 
lous apostle  to  the   Indians,  is,  that  they  are  utterly 
destitute  of  faith  ;    and  we  know  that  without  that 
gift  of  God  which  engages  sincerely  to  acquiesce  in 
the  truths  which  he  has  revealed  to  his  church,  no 
man  can  be  considered  a  Christian.  It  is  true  the  Indian 
never  refuses  his  assent  to  any  article   of  religious 
fairh,  but  expresses  his  approbation  of  the  morality 
which  is  preached  to  him  ;    his  incredulity  only  ap- 
pears from  the  disgust  which  he  discovers  for  reli- 
gious exercises.     As  far  as  these  exercises  consist 
of  mere  show,  he  is  amused  with  them  ;  the  ring- 
ing of  bells,  the  singing  of  psalms,  and  the  sound  of 
musical  instruments,    which  frequently  accompany 
them,   the  view  of  illuminations  and  decorations,  all 
seem  to  captivate  the  Indian,  but,  catechisms,  ser- 
mons, low  masses  and  abstinences,  are  to  him  such 
disgusting    objects,    as    are    altogether    intolerable. 
His  behaviour  at  church  is  by  no  means  a   proof 
that  he  came  therefrom  a  spirit  of  devotion.     His 
clothes  are  always  in  a  very  tattered  condition,  and 
are  the  more  offensive  to  modesty,  as  they  hardly 
cover  his  nakedness  ;  nay,  he  frequently  comes  to 
church   stark -naked,  and  lies  squat  on  the  ground 
during  the  whole  time  of  divine  service.     He  never 
discovers  an  inclination  to  join  in  prayer ;    he  has 
more    veneration   for  magic  and  sorcery,  although 
he  hears  their  absurdity  continually  exposed,  than 
for   religious    worship,    whose    inestimable    ad van - 
VOL.  J,  M  m 


242 

tages  are  made  the  theme  of  incessant  recommen- 
dation.     What  is  more  remarkable,  the  IndLn  who 
believes  the   Christian  doctrine,  passes  amongst  his 
companions,  for  a  simpleton.       Sorcery  and  conjura- 
tion are  the  only  tenets  which  Indians  can  relish,  or 
embrace.     Old  age,  instead  of  recalling  them  to  the 
true  faith,  on  the  contrary,  effaces  from  their  me- 
mory,   those    sight   impressions   which    they    may 
have   received,   in  their  youth,  in   favour   of  Chris- 
tianity.    Ir  is  even  not  uncommon  to  see  old  squaws 
burlesque  the  very  sermons  they  are  hearing,  and 
by  this  means  attempt  to  destroy  in  the  young  In- 
dians   the   salutary   effects   they    might    otherwise 
produce  on  their  morals.     These  old  squaws,  scat- 
tered in  different  parts  of  the  church,  make  their 
remarks  on  every  thing  that  falls  from  the  mouth  of 
the   preacher.     When  he  speaks   of  the   goodness 
and  power  of  Godr  the  old  squaw  replies  in  a  low, 
muttering  tone  :  if  he  be  so  good  and  powerful,  why 
does  he  not  provide  us  food,  without  obliging  us  to 
labour  for  i:  ?     If  he  describes  the  torments  of  hell, 
the  squaw  replies  :     has  he  been  there  ?     who  in- 
formed him  of  it "?     who  is  come  from  that  quarter  ? 
If  he   expatiates  on    mortification  and   abstinence : 
why,  says  the  squaw,  does  not  the  holy  father,  who 
preaches  to  us  such  fine   morality,  practise*  it  him- 
self ?      If  he  speaks  on  the  subjecj  of  c;  nfession, 
the  squaw  ascribes   it  to  the  curiosity  of  the  priest, 
and  contends   that   God   has   no   need   of  knowino- 

o 

what  the  Indians  are  doing ;  so  that  with  such  com- 
mentaries, the  sermon  is  more  prejudicial  than  fa- 
vourable to  the  progress  of  the  faith. 


243 
How  the  Indians  ought  to%be  treated. 

It  is,  therefore,  clearly  demonstrated,  that  all  the  In- 
^  an  villages  are  still  much  nearer  the  savage  than  the 
civilized  life.  Even  those  cannot  be  exceptcd,  who 
have  lived  under  the  protection  of  the  laws  for  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  reason  may, 
perhaps,  be  ascribed  to  the  natural  disposition  of  that 
class  of  men,  who  are  so  remarkable  for  their  stu- 
pidity, that  the  question  has  been  agitated,  whe- 
ther they  were  rational  beings  ;  and  it  was  not  till 
after  serious  examination  that  Paul  III.  declared 
in  1537,  that  they  were  Indos  ipsos,  as  the  bull  ex- 
presses it,  ut  pote  veros  homines,  non  solum  christtantf 
Jidei,  cnpaces  existere  dlscernimus  et  declaramus. 
But  it  is  very  possible,  likewise,  that  a  different 
mode  of  treatment  would  have,  in  some  measure, 
removed  their  incapacity.  If,  instead  of  encou- 
raging their  laziness,  or  refusing  to  pay  wages  to 
.those  who  would  work,  they  had  obliged  all,  without 
exception,  to  labour,  on  condition  of  procuring  for 
them  commodities  as  a  compensation  for  their  toil  ; 
if  they  had  studied  to  create  amongst  them  artificial 
wants,  so  as  to  make  them  appreciate  these  com- 
modities, their  civilization  would  undoubtedly  be 
.far  more  advanced.  They  have  treated  them  like 
ferocious  animals  whom  they  wished  to  tame  ;  they 
ought  to  have  led  them  like  children,  whom  they 
wished  to  form  into  men.  The  system  of  excessive 
indulgence  which  was  suitable  for  religion,  was  not 
equally  suitable  for  political  government.  The  means 
to  be  adopted  to  qualify  a  person  for  the  discharge  of  the 


244 

social  duties  are  by  no  means  the  same  with  those 
which  must  be  used  to  make  him  love  and  adore  his 
creator.  It  is  my  opinion,  and  I  repeat  it,  that  L  is 
part  of  the  population  of  Terra- Firma  would  be  let 
immersed  in  superstition  and  vice,  if  one  law  had  been 
passed  to  oblige  them  to  labour,  and  another  to 
render  their  labour  profitable  to  themselves. 

By  being  trained  to  a  laborious  life,  men  are  at 
the  same  time  trained  to  become  good  husbands, 
good  fathers,  and  good  Christians  ;  for  all  the  social 
virtues  are  the  natural  attendants  of  the  love  of 
industry. 

New  plan  for  managing  the  Indians. 

The  following  are,  in  my  opinion,  the  means 
which  should  have  been,  and  may  still  be  adopted, 
the  more  effectually  to  fulfil  the  views  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  first  step  should  be,  to  abolish  all  festivals, 
as  they  can  be  of  no  other  service  to  the  Indians, 
but  to  give  them  an  opportunity  to  get  drunk.  The 
Sunday  should  be  exclusivelv  and  solelv  devoted  to 

tl  V  * 

the  worship  of  God  and  to  religious  instruction.  After 
six  days  of  labour  the  seventh  will  be  a  real  day  of 
rest.  Every  Indian  family  should  be  under  an  ex- 
press obligation,  to  raise  the  quantity  and  kinds  of 
provisions,  which  the  magistrate  who  has  the  super- 
intendance  and  direction  of  their  labour  shall  have 
prescribed.  The  quantity  of  provisions  shall  be  in 
proportion  to  the  presumed  exigencies  of  the  family  ; 
and  the  plantations  for  provisions  shall  be  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  houses  of  the  proprietors,  so  as  to  be 
easily  secured  against  the  robbery  of  men  and  the 


245 

voracity  of  animals  :  on  these  small  patches  of 
ground  they  shall  be  employed  two  days  in  the 
week,  which  will  be  abundantly  sufficient  for  thtir 
cultivation. 

The  Indians  of  each  village  shall  be  formed  into 
four  divisions  ;  and  to  each  of  these  shall  be  assigned 
an  extent  of  ground,  proper  for  the  culture  of  colo- 
nial produce.  One  plantation  shall  be  for  coffee,  ano- 
ther for  cotton,  another  for  indigo,  and  a  fourth  for 
cocoa,  supposing  the  land  in  every  village  is  suita- 
ble for  such  a  diversity  of  productions  ;  for  it  is  of 
no  consequence,  according  to  my  plan,  whether  the 
kind  of  productions  raised  on  the  four  plantations  be 
different  or  not. 

The  members  of  each  division,  shall  be  obliged  to 
repair  every  day,  except  those  employed  in  private 
culture,  to  the  plantation  appropriated  to  them,  and 
to  work  on  it  from  sun-rise  to  sun-set,  excepting  the 
hours  of  meals  and  during  rainy  weather. 

In  the  centre  of  each  of  these  plantations,  shall  be 
erected  the  buildings  necessary  for  their  accommo- 
dation, ihe  expenses  of  which  shall  be  advanced  by 
the  king,  which  shall  be  refunded  to  him  in  annual 
payments  of  a  fourth   part  during  the  first  four  years 
of  its  culture.     All  the  produce  carefully  laid  up  in  a 
store-house  shall,  if  possible,  be  sold  on   the  spot  ; 
if  not,  it  shall  be  consigned  to  a  commercial  house  of 
the  nearest  sea-port,  in  order  to  be  dispose  d  of  ;  and 
its  proceeds  shall  be  remitted   to  the  village  whence 
the  produce  was  sent,  in  order  to  be  divided  in  spe- 
cie amongst  the   Indians  who  raised  it.     It  shall  be 
exempt  from  the  duty  of  the  alcavala  and  tithes  for 
at  least  ten  years.     It  it  to  be  understood  that  the  ex- 


246 

penses  of  cultivation,  transportation,  commission,  and 
other  small  charges,  are  to  be  deducted  before  a  divi- 
dend is  made. 

The  Indian  shall  have  the  free  and  entire  disposal 
of  the  money  which  he  shall  receive  as  his  quota  ; 
such  an  indulgence  is  calculated  to  rouse  ambition, 
if  he  possesses  any,  if  not,  to  inspire  it.  rJ 'he  esta- 
blishment of  all  kinds  of  shops  and  trades  shall  be  per- 
mitted in  the  village,  so  that  the  Indian  may  have  an 
opportunity  of  laying  out  his  monev  on  such  objects 
as  he  may  deem  useful  and  convenient. 

If  four  large  plantations  for  each  village  should  not 
be  sufficient,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  their  num- 
ber from  being  augmented,  or  reduced,  as  circu-m- 
•stances  may  require.  In  like  manner,  ten,  twenty  or 
thirty  Indians,  who  would  wish  to  work  together, 
may  be  allowed,  without  any  inconvenience,  to  form 
a  separate  plantation  ;  but  on  condition  of  cultivating 
a  space  in  proportion  to  their  number.  The  two  ob- 
jects to  be  accomplished  are,  to  excite  the  Indians  to 
industry,  and  to  procure  more  objects  for  commerce. 

The  common  establishments  shall  be  under  the  di- 
rection of  persons  well  acquainted  with  culture  and 
the  art  of  preparing  the  produce  for  market ;  under 
them  the  Indians  will  serve  their  apprenticeship,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  shall  procure  for  themselves 
the  means  of  a  comfortable  subsistence. 

This  kind  of  guardianship  shall  last  for  ten  years, 
after  which;  the  cultivated  lands  tliall  be  so  divided. 
that  every  family  m.iv  retain  its  little  private  posses- 


sion. 


The  chief  magistrate  of  each  village  shall  superin- 
tend private  culture  ;  he  shall  carefully  ascertain  the 


247 

quantity  of  provisions  necessary  for  the  support  of  the 
cultivators,  and  the  extent  of  ground,  which  over  and 
above  they  shall  be  able  to  lay  out  in  the  cultivation 
of  coffee  and  cotton. 

Results  of  this  Regulation. 

*/  O 

I  forbear  enlarging  on  this  plan,  because  to  me  it 
appears  so  simple  as  to  require  no  further  explana- 
tion. Its  general  object  is,  to  derive  advantage  from 
the  labour  of  the  Indians,  without  encroaching  on 
thdr  personal  liberty  ;  to  attach  them  to  property, 
without  making  them  rich  ;  to  keep  them  at  a  dis- 
tance from  towns,  without  depriving  them  of  the  en- 
joyments of  society  ;  to  make  them  refrain  from 
drunkenness,  without  debarring  them  from  innocent 
pleasures  ;  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, without  corrupting  them  with  superstition  ; 
to  give  them  a  taste  for  decent  attire,  without  allow- 
ing them  to  be  tainted  with  luxury  ;  in  short,  to  give 
them  a  soul,  ideas,  morals,  and  a  comfortable  subsis- 
tence ;  all  which  must  arise  from  labour. 

If  better  means  can  be  devised  than  what  I  pro- 
pose, let  them  be  adopted  ;  I  shall  sincerely  pray  for 
their  success.  In  whatever  manner  that  wretched 
people  can  be  rescued  from  the  brutal,  degraded  and 
abject  state,  in  which  they  at  present  exist,  it  ought 
to  give  equal  satisfaction  to  every  feeling  heart. 

At  any  rate,  I  trust  that  this  scheme  will  not  be 
considered  as  one  of  those  productions  of  the  closet, 
which  contains  a  visionary  theory  that  can  never  be 
reduced  to  practice.  All  that  is  necessary  to  accom- 
plish my  plan,  are,  talents,  perseverance  and  probity, 
on  the  part  of  those  who  shall  be  charged  with  itb  ex- 
ecution. Besides,  trials  may  be  made  on  a  small 


248 

scale,  in  order  to  run  less  risk,  and,  by  means  of 
these  first  experiments,  to  rectify  whatever  may  ap- 
pear unfavourable  to  the  execution  of  the  general  plan. 

The  Indian  population  in  the  captain-generalship 
of  Caraccas,  amounts  to  seventy  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred souls.  By  engaging  them  in  easy  culture, 
such  as  that  of  coffee  and  coUon,  in  which  women, 
children  and  old  men,  can  be  equally  employed,  there 
would  result  so  considerable  an  augmentation  of  com- 
modities as  would  contribute  very  sensibly  to  the  in- 
crease of  commerce. 

Of  seventy-two  thousand  eight  hundred  Indians, 
I  suppose  that  only  one  half  are  employed  in  labour  ; 
and  that,  instead  of  one  thousand  pounds  of  coffee,  for 
example,  which  every  individual  should  contribute 
annually  to  commerce,  he  furnishes  no  more  than 
five  hundred  ;  this  is  always  an  addition  of  eighteen 
millions  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  coffee  to  the 
present  exports,  the  proceeds  of  which  will  serve  to 
purchase  articles  of  European  manufactures.  From 
these  new  articles  of  merchandize,  will  result  a  new 
activity  to  navigation  and  commerce  ;  and  from  that 
activity  will  result  advantages  so  palpable,  that  it  is 
unnecessary  to  describe  them. 


END    OF    VOLUME    I. 


Printed  by  I.  Riley  and  Co. 


VOL,  L  N  n 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 


Introduction. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGS. 

Learning  and  Enterprising  spirit  of  Columbus  1 

Intrepidity  of  the  Conquerors  .  .  4 

Discovery  of  Terra-Hrma  by  Columbus  7 

Ojecla  and  Americus  Vespucius  pursue  his  steps  .  8 

Sp  i nish  vessels  go  to  trade  there  .  .  .  ib. 

Origin  of  the  Missionaries  ...  10 

Two  Missionaries  goto  exercise  their  ministry  at  Cutnana  12 
An  infamous  occurrence  which  occasions  their  being 

murdered  .  .  .  .  .13 

New  Missionaries  pass  to  Cumana  and  are  butchered  there  15 

First  Military  Expedition  to  Cumana  .  .  16 

Tne  audience  of  St.  Domingo  send  a  Commissary  to  Coro  18 

Cession  of  the  province  of  Venezuela  to  the  Welsers  19 

Ferocity  of  the  agents  of  the  Welsers  .  .  22 

The  Welsers  are  dispossessed  of  Venezuela  .  28 

Happy  effects  which  result  from  it  ...  ib. 

Ecomiendas  .....  29 

Their  object  .....  ib. 

Their  utility  .....  30 

Principles  by  which  they  were  governed  .  .  32 

Tiurir  extinction  .....  34 
Causes  which  occasioned  force  to  be  employed  at  Venezuela 

and  conciliatory  measures  to  be  abandoned              .  ib. 

Foundation  of  the  first  cities — Barquisimeto              .              .  35 

Palmes  the  same  as  Nirgua          .             .              .  36 

Valencia              ......  37 

Truxillo             .....  ib. 

Caraccas          .....  38 

Maracaibo.  .  47 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Carora            '.            .            .            .  .            .48 

St.  Sabastian  de  los  Reyes             .             .  .                    ib.. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Chorography  of  the  Eastern  part  of  Terra-Firma  50 

Division  of  the  Captain-generalship  of  Caraccas  .             ib. 

Temperature             .             .             .  .             .                51 

Mountains         .             .             .             .  .                         ib. 

Mines             .                           .  .54 

Pearl  Fishery                            .,             .  .             .               57 

Salt             ...  58 

Mineral  Waters              .             .             .  .                        ib. 

Seasons             ...  59 

Rains  60 

Earthquakes  6 1 

Timber  for  building             .                  .  62 

Timber  for  Carpenter-Work  .         63 

Timber  for  Cabinet-Work  :            64 

Timber  for  particular  uses  ib. 

Wood  for  Dyeing  .         65 

Medical  Plants,  Gums,  Rosins  and  Oils  .                 .            ib. 

Lakes                  .  .67 

Lake  of  Maracaibo  .                   ib. 

Lake  of  Valencia  .         72 

Rivers             .                                   *  .77 

Guigues                                   .  .        78 

Tocuyo                              .  .79 

Aroa             .  .80 

Yaracuy                 .  .                     ib. 
Tuy 

Unara                           .  .81 

Never!                 .                  .  ib. 

Manzanares                 .  .82 

Cariaco                 .                 .  ib. 

Sea  .                             84 

Tides                 .  .                          85 

"Winds  zV', 


CONTENTS, 

PAGE. 

Worms  or  Tarets  86 

Surge             ....  z'5, 

Ports              .              .              .              .              .              .  87 

Porteta  and  Bayahonda                  .                  .                 .  ib. 

Maracaibo             .                                .                  .  .        ib. 

Coro            .......  83 

Porto-Cabello                  .                   .                   .  ib. 

Turiamo,  Patanemo,  Borburata  and  Sienega         .  ,89 
Ocumara             ......          ib. 

La  Guira                 ....  90 

Caravalleda             .             .             .             .             .  .91 

Port  Francis              .             .             .             .             .  93 

Bay  or  Lake  of  Tacarigua             .             .             .  .94 

Barcelona             ....  .95 

Cumana             .                  .                  .  ib. 

The  Gulph  of  Cariaco                               .                 .  .96 

PointofAraya             .             .             .             .             .  97J 

Straits  of  Margaretta                                   .             .  .  •     ib.. 

Gulph  of  Paria                  .                  .                 .  9* 

CHAPTER  III. 

Population,  Manners  and  Customs  102 

Want  of  exact  Census                  .                  .                  .  ib. 

Census  taken  annually  by  the  Curates.                            .  103 

Division  of  the  Population              ....  105 

Difficulties  which  Spaniards  experience  in  going  to  America  106 

The  difficulties  which  Strangers  experience  are  greater  109 
Trials  which  Foreigners  undergo,  who  settle  in  the  Spanish 

Colonies              .             .             .             .  lin 

Hardly  any  emigration  from  Spain  to  Terra-Firma             .  in 

Attachment  of  the  Creoles  to  their  Country  1 1 3 

Public  Education             .                 .                  .  i'(K 

Aptitude  of  the  Creoles  for  the  Sciences  120 

The  Custom  of  the  Afternoon-Nap  123 

Marriages                  .                  .  12'; 

The  Spaniards  marry  very  young  7'A. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The  authority  of  Parents  over  Children  is  less  than  in  other 

States                                 .                  .                  .  125 
Happy  Reform             .             .             .             .             .127 

Causes  of  unhappy  Marriages                .                .  12'J 

Apparent  submission  of  the  Children  to  their  Parents       .  131 
Etiquettes  or  Ceremonies              .              .              .              .132 

.  Their  bad  Effects              .              .              .              .  139 

The  Spaniards  are  litigious                .              .              .  140 

Tiie  Spaniards  are  extremely  prudent  in  their  undertakings  142 

Conspiracy  of  Venezuela            ....  143 

Causes          •    .                   .                  .                  .  id. 

Conspiracy  formed  by  three  Prisoners  of  State             .  145 

Discovery  of  the  Conspiracy                   .                  .              .  148 

Measures  of  Government             ....  ib. 

Honorable  act  of  Charles  IV.            .            .            .  150 

[Prosecutions  of  the  Tribunals                  .                  .  ib. 

/•Slaves             .             .             .             .             .             .  154 

,  r^The  Spaniards  do  not  carry  on  the  slave  trade  156 
V*Number  of  slaves                .                 .                .             .159 

^Their  treatment              .              .              .              .              .  ib. 

Every  tiling  is  done  to  make  them  good  Christians           .  160 

Carelessness  of  Masters  with  respect  to  tneir  Slaves            .  162 

Reforms  contemplated  •                          .              .              .  164 

Advantages  which  the  Laws  offer  to  Slaves  .  .166 

Freed-Men               .                  .                  .  16S 

Their  Number                  .                  .                  .                  .  ib. 

Restrictions  laid  on  Liberty           .              .  ib. 
Causes  of  these  Restrictions              .              .              .              .170 

Freed-men  can  hold  no  Public  Office             .              .  173 

The  Law  subjects  them  to  an  Impost  which  they  do  not  pay  174 
Sumptuary  Laws  with  respect  to  Freed-men 

Case  in  which  a  Freed-man  returns  to  Slavery              .  175 
The  King   gives  dispensations    with  respect  to  People  of 

Colour             .....  ib 

Marriages  between  Whites  and  People  of  Colour         .  177 

The  Necessity  of  Hospitals  for  Foundlings         .            .  181 
Freed-men  can  practice  Medicine 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Portrait  of  the  Indians  before  the  arrival  of  the  Europeans  : — 

means  employed  to  civilize  them              .  .            is" 

How  America  has  been  peopled               .              .  ib. 

Smallntrss  of  the  Population              .              .  .                  185 

Governments  which  were  found  there             .  186 

Subdivision  of  the  Population                   .  .                     187 

Physical  and  Moral  constitution  of  the  Indians  .   189 

Their  propensity  to  war             .             .             .  .          iyo 

Unworthy  manner  in  which  they  carry  it  on  .                ib. 

Causes  which  put  an  end  to  war                  .  191 

Religion  of  the  Indians             .             .             .  192 

They  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  .                 ib. 

Their  Priests  were  also  their  Physicians  .                  193 

Studies  for  the  priesthood  and  medicine  united  .           .        ib. 

Medicines  used              .              .              .              .  .194 

Particular  gifts  of  the  Piaches  .      195 

Sorcery                  .                  .                  .  .                    196 

Funerals  of  the  Indians  of  Terra-Firma             .  .            ib. 
Reflection             ......        ib. 

Effects  of  eclipses  on  the  Indians                           .  .          197 

They  Worship  Toads                  .  .198 

They  Worship  Idols                  .                  .  .                  ib. 

Opinions  with  respect  to  the  soul  after  death  .             .     ib. 

Funerals  of  the  Oronoko  Indians                .  .                199 

Of  the  Sali ve  Indians  s           .                           .  .              200 

Of  the  Guaraunos                .             .               .  .                201 

Of  the  Aroacas              .              .              .              .  .             ib. 

Of  the  Caribbees             '.                 .             .  .202 

The  lazy  and  sottish  life  of  the  Indians               .  .             ib. 

Exception  in  favour  of  the  Otomaques              .  .            203 
Excercise  of  Playing  Ball  amongst  tiie  Otomaques          .          204 

Indians  who  eat  Earth               ....  206 

Food  of  the  Indians                  .                  .  .                    ib. 

Turtle  Fishery             .             .  207 

Marriages  of  the  Indians                  .                 .  .         208 

Deplorable  situation  of  the  Women  of  Oronoko  .            .    209 

Polygamy                                      .                  .  .                211 

Divorce                                        .  i?> 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Exchange  of  Women             .            »            .  212 

Education  of  Children                       .     4             .  ^ 

Hatred  of  Sons  against  their  Fathers             .  ,              213 

Dress             .....  .             ib. 

'  Indians  not  reduced             .             .             .  .                 214 

Goahiros            ....  217 

Their  intercourse  with  Rio-de-la-Hache  .                       219 
Civilized  Indians             .....         225 

Excessive  lenity  of  the  laws  in  their  favour  .             .     226 

•  Measures  to  keep  them  in  dependence  .             .         227 

Their  privileges              ...              .  .              .          228 

Distinguished  favours  which  the  church  grants  them         .      233 

Unhappy  Results  .        238 

Difficulty  of  making  them  citizens  .            .   239 

Greater  difficulty  of  making  them  Christians  240 

How  the  Indians  ought  to  be  treated  243 

New  plan  for  managing  the  Indians              r  .       244 

Results  of  this  Regulation  247 


UNIVERSITY  of 

LOS  ANGELES 
LIBRARY 


3  1158006123722 


A    001  236641    5 


